Brotherhood
by Amaya Shinkuyoake
Summary: What if Tom didn't die? What if BOTH Sully twins ended up on Pandora? An exercise in possibilities. Has romance - Jake/Neytiri and others - and an examination of life among the Na'vi. Rated M for safety & content past chapter 12. XD
1. Prologue: Setting the Scene

**Avatar is very pretty, but not mine. Currently all characters in here are not mine either. Any original characters in later chapters, however, will be mine, and you'll know they're mine because they'll be original XD**

Brotherhood

"Well, that's certainly unexpected," Tom Sully said over the comlink to the head of the Amnio team, "although I suppose it says something about the genetics of twins, doesn't it? I wonder..." He paused, deep in thought for a moment.

"Yes, yes, it's absolutely fascinating," the Amnio head interrupted quickly, "but what are we supposed to do with the extra embryo? I hesitate to just destroy it, but it isn't as though you can be in two bodies at once, and an avatar without a driver is useless. I suppose we could keep it as a spare for you but the implications of you needing a spare are..."

"No, no," Tom shook his head, "I don't anticipate needing a spare, but I think I might just have a use for it. I know we leave in less than a week, but I'll get back to you on the issue by the day after tomorrow at the latest, just keep growing both of them until you hear back."

"Alright," the man nodded, "I guess it doesn't really make much of a difference at this point anyway, neither one of them is any bigger than a mouse."

"Right," Tom laughed. "I'll be in touch."

With that he hung up, sitting down in a nearby chair. He frowned to himself as he debated how to break his idea to his brother. He wanted to talk to Jake before he approached his superiors. He knew he'd be able to convince them, and he was pretty sure he'd be able to convince Jake, but ever since his confinement to a wheelchair he'd been grumpy. Tom got it, he really did, but he was hoping the opportunity to be a part of such an exciting proect, not to mention being able to use legs again, even if they weren't his own, would be tempting enough to break through the grumps to the crazy, adventure-loving twin Tom had grown up with.

* * *

Jake Sully groaned and pulled the pillow over his head. The phone was still ringing and he knew it had to be Tom. Only his twin would keep calling after the fifth time he hadn't picked up. He groaned again and rolled over, throwing the pillow at the button for the speakerphone and vidlink. "What?" he snapped shortly.

"You're looking chipper this evening," Tom grinned at him across the vid, "just waking up, are we?"

"_We_..." Jake growled, "were attempting to kill a headache, something that the phone ringing constantly for ten minutes has not helped."

"Well maybe this'll make it better. How'd you like to have a new set of legs?" Tom couldn't keep the grin off his face.

"What's the catch?" Jake asked suspiciously. There had to be a catch, he knew that look on Tom's face all too well.

"You'll have to wait a few years, and they're gonna be blue," Tom shrugged.

Jake blinked. Clearly he wasn't awake enough yet. "Blue?"

"Yeah, blue," Tom nodded. "The avatar they're growing for me decided to do the twin thing, so I figured why the hell not?"

"Wait. You want me to come with you, go into cryo and bum around on some moon out in the middle of nowhere? I'm not a science geek, Tom, what the hell'm I supposed to do there? Sit on my blue ass and count birds or some bullshit like that?"

"Just because only scientists have been sent so far, it doesn't mean you wouldn't be useful. We could definitely do with a bodyguard who doesn't have to be out there in an exopack, and besides that, from all I've read and all I've been told, the Na'vi are a hunter/warrior culture. They'd probably respect you way more than me, just 'cause you're trained in combat."

"Oh great, so you want a trained monkey," Jake rolled his eyes, "how about you give me just one actual good reason I should go along with this insane idea of yours."

"_Because you don't have anything better to do,_" Tom said, using the private "twin" language the two of them had made up when they were kids, "_and because I want you there._"

"Fine, fine," Jake sighed, "_you win._" He shook his head. "If you can talk your superiors into it, I'll come with you. You're right, it's not like I have anything better to do."


	2. Chapter 1: Landing

**Well lookit that, I actually managed to crank this chapter out faster than I'd hoped. And something resembling a plot (or at least vaguely) has begun to surface, even if it isn't really clear yet here it will be later.**

**I'm amazed by the quick outpouring of support for this story. I hope you all continue to enjoy my little offering**

**Once again, not mine, except Cathy, poor dear.**

Brotherhood

Chapter 1: Landing

Waking up out of the stasis of cryo was...disorienting. Even though he'd known it would be, Tom Sully was still surprised by it. Once his pod opened he stretched, feeling all the vertibrae down his back pop into place, even in zero G. He looked around and caught sight of Jake and grinned. "How'd you sleep?" he asked.

"Feels like I didn't sleep at all," Jake yawned, "that's seriously weird."

"I know," Tom pulled himself out of his pod, "go to sleep and wake up five-plus-years later." He grinned. "You ready for this?"

"Ready as I'm gonna be," Jake nodded, smiling a little as well as he pushed out into the weightlessness of the orbiting transport ship. "I'm so gonna be faster than you once I have legs again."

"You think so hmm? How much you wanna bet on that?" Tom grinned.

"Whatever you wanna pay me," Jake grinned back.

"Says the man who hasn't even logged any sim time," Tom shook his head. "You can try, boy, you can try."

* * *

Tom almost couldn't pull his eyes away from his first view of the jungles of Pandora to look at all the troups sharing the transport with his brother and himself. It looked almost like the images he'd seen once in a book of images of the jungles of Africa and the Amazon in the mid-twentieth century. When he did finally look over at Jake, he smiled gently. Jake was trying to act tough around all the other mercinaries, but Tom could see the amazement hiding behind his twin's eyes. He didn't say anything though, just looked away again out the window. After all, he knew Jake still felt he had a lot to prove, especially to himself.

Tom watched the trees fly by beneath him and caught sight of a flock of...were they birds? No, that couldn't be right, or at least not given the relative size compared to the trees. Those must be...he searched his memory for the Na'vi word..._ikran_, mountain banshees, looking like nothing so much as the way he imagined a Pterodactyl flock must have looked millions of years ago on earth. He rubbed his eyes. He could have sworn the profile of the _ikran_ in the back of the flock looked wrong somehow...Like someone was sitting on it! He wanted to share the spectacle but glancing around him at all the stone-faced soldiers, he held his tongue. It wouldn't surprise him at all to learn that there were Na'vi hunters keeping track of the movements of aircraft in and out of Hell's Gate.

He couldn't wait to get out there. To be running free among the trees, and especially to be running with his brother again. And to meet some of the Na'vi, of course. After all, that was the whole reason he was here, really.

The transport banked again, and the human base of Hell's Gate came into view. In contrast to the forest around it, the sight of the massive strip-mine made Tom almost sick. He schooled his features, though, not wanting to let on. The only way he'd keep on the right side of the RDA and their hired dogs was not to comment on what a fucking mess they were making of something that was otherwise as close as he'd ever seen to an "Eden". He turned away from the window again, watching Jake instead as they landed.

* * *

After orienting himself on base, and without waiting for Jake, who had some kind of military _thing_ to go to, Tom wandered toward the science wing, hoping to get a look at his now-fully-grown avatar. The link room was a hive of activity, techs running here and there doing highly technical things, lights flashing over a few link units and various other activity, so at first nobody noticed his arrival. He leaned against the wall just inside the door and just watched for a little bit, taking it all in. Soon, he would be a part of all this. He, and Jake, and Norm. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Norm since he woke up. He vaguely wondered where the tall, gangley fellow was, but he figured Norm was probably just getting accustomed to the place the same way he was.

Suddenly the lights over one of the link units started flashing faster and someone yelled "incoming" just as the lid began to rise. Tom was surprised to realize he recognized the young woman who rubbed her eyes and stretched before hauling herself out of the unit and to her feet. Well, he didn't know why he was surprised, after all, he'd known a few of those who were ahead of him in the AVTR program, so why should he not know her?

He grinned as he watched her slightly awkward stumbling steps in his direction. He didn't think she'd seen him, he wasn't that naive, he knew full well the reason she was heading his was was because he was next to the door out of there, but he did wonder if she'd notice him as she walked by.

Nope. He chuckled ruefully as she walked by him, seeming almost to be in a trance. Clearly she was exhausted; maybe he should just leave her be. But no, he shook his head, no that wouldn't be any fun at all. Finding his way around would also be easier, he rationalized, with a guide to show him where everything was. He ducked back out the door and headed after her.

"Cathy?" he called. "Cathy Seaton! Wait up!" Despite how tired she looked, she was clearly in a hurry, and her long strides carried her quickly down the hallway, making it necessary for him to jog after her to catch up. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Cathy," he said, "slow down! Where's the fire!"

"Shut up Tom," she shook her head, "I just finished eating dinner and now I'm starving and I have to eat again, it's a damn nuisance..." she trailed off as she turned to stare at him. "Wait...Tom? Tom Sully? What are you doing here?"

"Just got in on the Venture Star," Tom grinned, "I could do with a little dinner myself, only...I'm not sure just where the cafeteria is. You wouldn't mind showing me, would you?" He gave her his best "helpless lost little puppy" look.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Sure, okay, fine," she slipped her shoulder out from under his hand, "but only because I was heading there anyway."

"Awesome," he grinned, "lead on, then."

* * *

At first, Tom found Cathy very evasive in answering any of his questions, but from watching her body language and the way she kept glancing around at the soldiers filling the cafeteria (or, he supposed, given the predominance of said soldiers, maybe he should be calling it the "mess". Jake always got so annoyed with him when he used the wrong words for "soldier things" like that) he quickly caught on that she didn't want to discuss anything to do with the Na'vi or her avatar with such an audience, so instead he shifted the subject, bringing her up to date with how things had gone on earth since she'd left and before he had, and finding out from her how other mutual friends were faring here on Pandora since her arrival.

They were deep in discussion on the topic of Max and whether or not he was romantically interested in one of the female techs ("You've got to be kidding me? I always thought he was secretly gay!" Tom teased) when Tom felt a pair of hands land heavily on his shoulders.

"Cute," said a sarcastic female voice, "real cute, but you and I need to have a little talk. Tom Sully, I presume?"

Tom felt a chill go through him at the anger he could feel barely restrained in the woman's tone. "Yeah, that's me," he turned to see who was talking to him, "what did I do? I just got here, so it can't have been anything too big." Once he was fully turned around he realized that it was Dr. Grace Augustine, and the look on her face only accentuated his earlier impression from her tone of voice.

"What kind of operation do you think we're running here?" she said scathingly, "a family picnic? You figured you could just sweet-talk your way into getting your useless jarhead brother here just because you felt sorry for him cause his legs don't work anymore?"

Tom was all set to be mollifying, but that last quip was one step too far. He stood up from his seat and turned to face her properly. "I was going to explain myself to you," he said angrily, "but clearly you don't want to hear my reasoning. No, I don't think this is a fucking family picnic, and I have a very good reason for wanting a trained warrior in an avatar body as a part of the diplomatic mission _I_ am supposed to be leading. Or did you think I'm useless too?" He turned away to look at Cathy with an apologetic smile, "I'll leave you to finish your dinner," he said, "I've lost my appetite, sorry."

And with that he strode quickly away, heading for his room and, next to it, Jake's. He wanted to get his twin's impressions so far, and besides that, he wanted to vent a little.


	3. Chapter 2: New Legs

**Another chapter of fun for you all...I hope you enjoy (and excuse my Anthro-geek coming out near the end of the chapter. I just had to do it! :3)**

**Poor poor Norm, not getting any fun. *pets him* He'll get his fun later. Oh, and for the sake of not having to re-write the entire Avatar movie from start to finish, if I don't mention something, please just assume it happened very much as it did in the movie. I'm trying not to repeat scenes if I can possibly avoid it, thus the seeing everything from Tom's perspective to date.**

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Brotherhood Chapter 2: New Legs

Tom ground his teeth a little as he watched the linkup process. He knew Grace was punishing him for bringing Jake along by making him wait, but he tried not to let his irritation show. He was just lying back into his link unit when the commotion started with the avatars. "Jake you moron!" he laughed. "Hurry up and get me in there!" he called out to the techs as he reached up to pull the lid down over himself.

He felt the rush of transfer and blinked hazily, coming to in his avatar body only to see absolute chaos around him. "Jake!" he yelled, hauling himself up on his elbows, "cut it out!" He struggled to sit up.

"I've got it," Norm said, hurrying after Jake, who was now running out the door into the open area set aside for the avatars.

Tom rolled his eyes. "Sorry about that," he said to the tech who was helping him run through his dexterity tests.

"Has he always been that crazy?" the tech asked.

Tom grinned, "oh yeah," he nodded, "definitely. We done here?"

"Guess so," the tech nodded, "you wanna get out there too, right?"

"I wanna dunk his head in a bucket of water," Tom laughed, "see if it'll cool him down a little."

Once Tom got outside, he found Jake digging his toes into the dirt, and he grinned broadly. "So how do you like your new legs?" he asked.

"Pretty damn fine," Jake grinned back.

"You made a glorious mess back there," Tom pointed out.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Jake shrugged. "So we gonna have that race?"

"Um, you might want to put some clothes on," Norm pointed out, his eyes averted as he carried a pair of towels toward the brothers. He had already managed to find a top and shorts and throw them on while Tom was going after his brother.

"Oh...yeah, that might be a good idea," Tom agreed, glancing around to check the unfortunately gaping back of his hospital gown.

There was laughter somewhere behind him, and he felt his ears perk up to focus in on the sound. "Cute tails," someone said, and it was a female someone too... He grabbed one of the towels from Norm and quickly wrapped it around his hips.

"Where are the shorts" Jake asked as he, too, wrapped a towel around himself, "I have a race to beat my brother at."

"They're in the bunkhouse," Norm said, "but I don't know if you should be racing. I mean, we only just got into our avatars..."

"It'll be fine," Tom patted his friend's shoulder, "it's not like either one of us is having synchronization problems."

"Let the boys play," a female avatar strode toward them, and as he examined her features, Tom realized it was Grace.

"Doctor Augustine?" he said, surprised she wasn't yelling at them.

"I'm interested to see this," she grinned at him. Then she looked between the two. "We're really going to have to do something about you two though...like pick a colour for each of you. I hadn't realized just how..."

"Identical we are?" Jake laughed, "well I _was_ in a wheelchair after all."

"And I have absolutely no intention of ever cutting my hair like that fashion-failed jarhead," Tom stuck his tongue out at his twin.

"Hey!" Jake objected, "it's practical!"

"I rest my case," Tom laughed and turned to go over to the bunkhouse, "you coming, Jay-cob?"

"Right behind you, Tom-ass," Jake grinned.

* * *

After their race (which, incidentally, Tom won only because Jake happened to trip just before the finish line) both of the twins headed for the showers. Jake made it in safely, but just as Tom was following him through the door, someone grabbed his arm and pulled him into one of the changing room alcoves.

"What the..."

"You had questions," a female voice said, and as his new, more light-sensitive eyes acclimatized to the darkness, Tom realized it must be Cathy who'd pulled him in.

"I did," he nodded, "not the least of which right now is what are you doing in the men's showers?"

"I'm not _in_ the showers," she flushed, and Tom was fascinated by the way the small bioluminescent dots which covered her pseudo-Na'vi skin fluoresced in coordination, "I'm in a changing room. I don't peek!"

"If you say so," Tom chuckled.

"Well if you want honest answers to your questions, you're going to have to talk to me in places like this," she said. "There are way too many ears everywhere else."

"Alright," he nodded, more serious now. "So tell me what's really going on here."

"What's really going on, is the RDA are Goddamned idiots who are bound and determined to screw us over. Three years ago they attacked the school we had set up here, Grace got shot, and I..." She took his hand and placed it over her left bicep, letting him feel the massive scar that was hidden there under the loose sleeve of her shirt, "I almost lost my arm trying to make sure the children got away safely. Since then we haven't been allowed anywhere near Hometree."

"So my diplomatic mission..."

"Is gonna be pretty damned hard to pull off," she nodded, and he could see a haunted look in her eyes, "I wish you luck, though. If we can't do something soon, the frickin' bulldozers are going to end up in places none of us want them. The unobtanium deposit under the base here looks to be petering out, and I don't like to think where they're going to start strip-mining next."

"Right," he nodded. "And what are we doing in the meantime?"

"As far as I'm concerned, I've been studying farming techniques and attempting to find more efficient ways to make the plants here edible for humans," Cathy said, "I'm not sure what Grace will do with you. She'll probably take you out at least a couple of times to start, she's always looking for strong bodies to help with her botanical research."

"I guess that's better than nothing," Tom gave her a rueful look, "I had been wanting to get out there and explore in the forest a little before I tried to approach anyone anyway."

"I have no idea what she'll do with your brother, though."

"If she's smart she'll bring him along," Tom said, "a little extra firepower against the beasties out there. I have my own plans, of course..."

"I don't doubt it," she shook her head, finally allowing herself a small smile.

"Either way it should be an interesting day," Tom said. "Hey, it's good to see you again," he added, "I've missed our socio-cultural discussions."

"You mean the screaming arguments?" Cathy's smile widened, "which you always lost?"

"I seem to remember winning quite a few," he countered, "but this is hardly the time or the place to get into this."

"No, you're right," Cathy patted his shoulder, "you stink and you're covered in dust and sweat. Time for you to get into the shower."

"Well if you'd waited until I was done showering to grab me I'd already be clean," he pointed out.

"Ah, but what fun would that be?" she grinned, "go get clean, I'll show you around my garden later."

"Sounds good to me," Tom nodded and ducked back out into the main changing area, being sure to wait until he heard the door close before he started to strip.

* * *

Just as Cathy had guessed, the next day, Grace headed out into the bush with Norm, Tom and Jake. And of course, things went about predictably well when a thanator showed up. Grace was almost frantic with worry when they couldn't find Jake's avatar, and Norm, even though he'd only met Jake a couple of days before, was obviously concerned as well. The only one who seemed calm, strangely enough, was Tom.

"Why aren't you freaking out?" Norm asked him as they were forced to fly back to base, giving him a strange look. "Your twin brother is out in the forest right now, possibly having been eaten by a thanator or possibly prey for whatever other predator happens to come along while he's out there all night."

"It's not that I'm not worried," Tom explained, "but Jake's fine. If something went really wrong, I would know."

"What are you talking about?" Norm's expression only got more confused.

"We're twins," Tom shrugged, "You ever heard of the hypothetical "twin bond" that is supposed to exist? Where one feels the other's pain? Well I can speak from experience, and it is in absolutely no way hypothetical. When I broke my arm when I was five, Jake was the one who started screaming, and when he got hit in Venezuela..." Tom just shook his head, not wanting to remember the searing phantom pain that had woken him out of a sound sleep with the sickening knowledge that something had gone very, very wrong for his twin. "Suffice it to say if he gets into any major trouble, I'll know."

Tom's reassurances did indeed hold out, as when Jake finally came out of link, there was a massive grin on his face.

"You're in one piece," Grace said to him, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup," Jake nodded.

"And the Avatar's safe?"

"You are not gonna _believe_ where I am," Jake assured her. The term "shit-eating" only began to describe the grin on his face.

Grace frowned, and Tom laughed at his brother's expression. "I take it you found something interesting?"

"Something like that, more like she found me," Jake shook his head, and his smile became a little more bemused. "They want me to learn their ways, since I'm the first "dreamwalker warrior" that has ever come there. I guess they figure an empty jarhead like me isn't gonna have a bunch of ideas already about how stuff's supposed to work."

"Yes!" Tom couldn't resist a subtle fist-pump, "exactly what I hoped for!" He laughed, "although maybe not quite the method of introduction I'd planned on..."

Grace turned her frown to the ambulatory Sully twin. "What exactly are you talking about?" she asked.

"Think of it like Leakey's Angels," Tom grinned, "the Na'vi are a warrior culture, I figured if I sent a warrior in to them they would have more in common, and a greater possibility for mutual respect."

"Like Leakey's Angels, hmm?" Grace nodded thoughtfully, "well you'd best hope he turns out to be more of a Jane Goodall and less of a Dian Fossey. We all know how that one ended."

"We do," Tom nodded a little more seriously, "although you're forgetting one. At this point, I'm thinking Birute Galdikas would be an optimum outcome."

"Right," Grace agreed, "she would be at that. I do hope you aren't thinking of the Na'vi as apes though."

"OH!" Tom's eyes went wide, "no not at all! It's just an easier parallel to draw than some of the others that came to mind for my plan. All of Leakey's Angels were passionate about their projects, that's all."

"Um, if the two of you are done talking in code, I'm starved," Jake gave his brother a friendly punch in the back of the knee, "and you're standing in between me and my dinner."

"Come to my room after," Tom said, moving out of the way, "and I'll go over stuff with you. You've got a lot to catch up on to prepare yourself for tomorrow."

"Right, sure, whatever you say," Jake rolled his eyes, "but I thought I was supposed to stay an empty vessel for them to fill up, not you." He rolled off toward the cafeteria.

"So while he's busy doing our job," Norm said, a small frown forming on his face, "what are we going to be doing?"

"Getting ready so we can meet the Na'vi on the best terms possible once Jake's made them see we aren't all out to get them," Tom patted his friend on the shoulder, "don't worry. There will be plenty for us to do."

"If you say so," Norm sighed.


	4. Chapter 3: Lessons

**And here we go once more into the breach...and a little from a different point of view finally! I had far too much fun writing this chapter, and I can guarantee the next one is going to be fun as well, and hopefully a little longer. We need to get things moving along, and Tom needs to get out into the forest again, after all!**

**Enjoy! And once again, in case anyone's forgotten, the only one I own so far is Cathy, sadly.

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Brotherhood Chapter 3: Lessons

Late the next morning, after Jake had been sent off to play with the Omatikaya, Tom managed to track down Cathy and another of the female avatars, Louise, playing one-on-one basketball in the compound.

"Nice dunk," he laughed as Louise simply reached her arm up and slipped the ball in, "don't you think we maybe need to raise the baskets?"

"Naw," Louise grinned, "this is the only time in my life I've been able to slam dunk, and I gotta say I like it."

Cathy laughed. "The game's about more than just putting a ball through a hoop," she pointed out, "and besides, it's not like we're seriously playing, we're just having a bit of fun and keeping our bodies in shape." She grabbed a damp towel and wiped the dust and sweat off her face, "I'm about done in Louise, I'm gonna grab a drink at the bunks," she announced.

"Mind if I join you?" Tom asked, "we still haven't really had much of a chance to catch up yet."

"Not at all," she smiled a little, "I believe you were saying something about missing arguments?"

"Totally," he grinned in an impressive show of canines.

"So, tell me about the school," Tom said once he and Cathy had gotten themselves something to drink and sat themselves down on facing bunks. "Not how it ended," he said quickly as he saw her hand go up to rub over her scar, "I mean before, when the school was up and running."

"Mm," she smiled a little, "it was good," she said, crossing her arms around her small waist, "before the school was taken away from us we spent whole weeks out in the jungle, living close beside the Omatikaya and learning almost as much from them as they were learning from us. We had a camp out there, next to the school... I wonder what happened to it," she mused, then she shook her head, "it's probably all been destroyed by now. Three years empty in the jungle is far too long for any building to survive."

He reached out and silently patted her knee, encouraging her to go on.

"In any case, the school," she smiled a little at him in thanks. "It was mostly Grace and I doing the actual teaching. A few of the others came by to take on the odd special class, but she and I were there every day. I had the younger children," her smile shifted into a more dreamy look, "they were such little darlings, although sitting still for hours just wasn't realistic, so a lot of the time was spent playing games and walking around in the forest near the school looking at plants and just talking about things. And drawing. They loved to draw, I still have a few of the pictures they made for me," she said nostalgically.

"I'd love to see them sometime," Tom said, "you must really have loved those kids, and they must have loved you, too."

"They may have," Cathy sighed, "but their parents never entirely trusted us, and when the soldiers came..." She shook her head, "I wish you all the luck in the world with your diplomatic mission, Tom, but I don't think it's possible. At least not unless you have some secret weapon here to take out the military. There are way more of them than there are us, and they're not...well...they don't think like we do. Especially," she lowered her voice, glancing around, "especially Quaritch. I think the man's insane. His mind went at some point, maybe it was the isolation here, maybe the position of too much power, or maybe just his own testosterone poisoning him, but I see the way he fondles his weapons. He wants nothing more than to have an excuse - any excuse - to blow the Na'vi away, and the way he lectures his soldiers on them, they're only too glad to go along with him on it."

"I'll talk to Jake about him tonight," Tom nodded, "before he goes to bed. He's a military type, he might understand the mindset a little better. I've never been able to wrap my head around it myself." He took note of the look on her face and changed the subject again, "So how much more have you learned about the roots of their language since you got here? I know you, and I know you haven't just been spending your time doing spelling drills with little kids. You're the Xeno-linguist, gimme a lesson so I know how best to approach the Omatikaya once I'm allowed near them."

That made Cathy smile again. "I should be giving both you and Norm lessons, his pronunciation's immaculate, and yours is pretty good as well, but both of you have such over-formality and it's...well, it's not how they speak, most of the time," she said, "and you're right, I definitely wasn't spending all my time running around after the little children, although it really was fascinating to see how their language acquisition functioned..." She shook her head, "but I'm getting off-topic. I managed to luck out early on, and one of the records-keepers of the People allowed me to learn from him. It was...eye opening," she said, and in the dimly-lit confines of the bunkhouse, her expression was unreadable.

"You miss it," he said softly.

"I do," she agreed, "but unfortunately it's not likely I'll ever get a chance to go back there, so there's not much I can do about it." She stood up then. "Come on, I've had enough sitting around, I said I was going to show you the gardens, I should do that. You need to start learning what's edible and what's not, and how to prepare some of the basics. We all take turns cooking here, and even though you're new, your turn will come soon enough."

Tom could sense that he'd gotten as much as he was going to get out of her on this line of questions, and he honestly didn't want to push her and make her more upset, so he went along with it. "Are you sure you want me cooking?" he pointed out, "or have you forgotten the disaster that was my "Lasagna special" in grad school?"

"Maybe I'd better supervise the first few times," she nodded thoughtfully, "just in case. Although I don't think it's possible to blow anything up here. After all, we don't use convection ovens." Her expression brightened, though, which had been his intent, so he didn't protest too loudly.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they headed for the gardens. "I've missed your stunning faith in me," he teased.

"Oh have you?" she rolled her eyes, "well, I always did say you were a closet masochist."

* * *

Meanwhile, while Tom was busy feeling out his place with an old friend who might have once been or might again be more than that, his brother was busy trying to figure out just what he was doing standing practically naked in the middle of the forest with a ridiculously primitive weapon trying to shoot a stone-headed arrow at a target made of a leaf that had been painted in concentric circles, with his brand new "teacher" flicking the back of his head every time he did something wrong.

Which seemed to be happening a lot, unfortunately.

He'd already fallen off the horse sixteen times, and Neytiri had apparently decided that was enough of that for the day. She'd given him the impression that it was more for the horse's sake than for his, and knowing her, it probably was, too. She was incredibly annoying, but also, strangely given the fact that she was blue, alien, and considerably less well-endowed than most of his previous choices of females, distractingly attractive. He felt his body begin to react to that line of thinking and bit the inside of his cheek, finding himself surprisingly glad of the fact that when one wore a loincloth one packed _up_ instead of left or right. It left no possibility of an embarrassing tenting situation.

He took a deep breath and grabbed the bow tightly, set the arrow over the string the way he remembered seeing in all the old Robin Hood movies Tom had made them watch when they were kids, pinched the back of the arrow against the string and started to pull back.

"No, no, no," Neytiri flicked the back of his head again, "_Skxawng_! You do not hold it like one of your _guns_, so tight like the vine that saves your life when you are falling, you hold it loose! Loose like a baby's hand! Like this!" she placed her hand behind his on the grip of the bow and tugged his fingers from around it, "Let the string pull it into your hand. And this other hand!" she clucked her tongue, "it should hold the string _and_ the arrow. Like..." She wrapped her fingers around the string, gripping the shaft of the arrow between the first and second, "this is why you have the leather on your fingers, you see?"

All Jake could see was that her body was almost flush with his, and that was a lot of potential skin contact, but he forced himself to pay attention. He was supposed to be learning, and he didn't want to screw up his chances with the clan by being too much of an idiot. He did what she said, letting the fingers of the hand holding the bow open and pulling back on the string with one finger above the arrow and the rest below.

"Better," Neytiri nodded, backing away, "now..." she walked around him, making minor corrections in his stance, "pull back fully, this arm keep straight," she tapped his left, holding the bow, "and this hand to your cheek, elbow high," she tapped the other.

He did as instructed, finding it slightly uncomfortable to hold the pose, and thinking that he needed to work on his muscles in this body some. This shouldn't be so hard to do, she'd said she was giving him a beginner's bow.

She did a little more inspection, then grinned at him. "You shoot now," she said.

Something about that look made him a little wary, but he did as she said, letting the string slip past his fingers. He yelped and dropped the bow as the string slapped against his left forearm, raising a welt from the inside of his elbow halfway down to his wrist.

"Fucking Hell!" he swore.

Neytiri laughed as she leaned down to pick up the bow. "All children have to learn the bow's teeth," she grinned at him, "then they learn to keep their arms in."

"You could've fucking told me it would do that!" he glared, "I thought I was holding it right like you told me to!"

"Better to learn by doing," she shook her head, "not by telling. You learn by doing you do not forget."

"Shit!" he blinked, his eyes watering. That had hurt like a sonufabitch! "Hey!" he grinned, looking at the target, "at least I hit the leaf."

Neytiri glanced over and gave him a "look." He didn't know how it was that she could do that without actually having eyebrows but she managed it. "You have hit the target yes, the very outside part. If you were shooting a _nantang_ you would hit him in the tail and he would laugh at you."

"Gimme that again," he reached for the bow, "I'll show you hitting the frickin' tail! But tell me how I'm supposed to keep my arm from getting turned into hamburger when I shoot this damn thing."

"Your shoulder should...in," Neytiri frowned, "I do not know to tell just... Pull the bow again, I will show."

"Right," he nodded, knocking another arrow and drawing it back.

"Now your shoulder in," she reached out, one hand going to his shoulder to rotate it forward a little, the other going, surprisingly gentle against his abraded flesh, to rotate his elbow so that the inner face of it was parallel to the string. "in. Like this. You see?"

"I see," he agreed. It was a damned awkward angle, but the last thing he wanted was that string hitting him again, so when she moved her hands away he held it. "Like this, right?"

"Like that," she agreed. "Now shoot."

He sighted down the arrow, grinning. Now that he had his stance right, aiming should be a cinch. After all, he'd been a marine-trained sniper as well as recon. He reached back into that training and took one deep breath before letting go.

There is a major difference, however, in sighting down a scope and sighting down an arrow. His planned bulls-eye was about six inches to the right of where he'd expected it to be, but at least this time the string didn't hit him, and he'd instinctively grabbed the bow as it flipped around in his hand.

He looked over at Neytiri, and she had a thoughtful look on her face. "Perhaps you are not entirely without promise," she said with a smile finally, and he felt, for a moment, like he'd just won the world's biggest prize.

The smile was short-lived however, and she was quickly back to being serious. "Now do it again," she said, retrieving both his arrows, "and quicker this time. If you were hunting your prey would have run away before you even shot one time."


	5. Chapter 4: Debriefing

**Well, somehow the fun of this chapter morphed into serious real fast... There will be more fun to come, I promise, but for now I give you...plot!**

**I should note that there will be an explanation of the Na'vi used in this chapter at the end, and in any subsequent chapter where I use any. It just makes more sense to me to put the translations after the story rather than before.**

**I hope everyone enjoys!  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 4: Debriefing

"So, how'd your first day go?" Tom asked as he walked beside Jake, the two of them heading for the cafeteria.

"Oh great," Jake rolled his eyes, "I fell off a horse more times than I want to think about, got covered in mud and...probably other things I don't wanna think about either, gave myself the mother of all rope burns from a bowstring, and I think I might have a minor concussion from all the times Neytiri hit me on the back of the head." He grinned widely, "but the day had its benefits too. There were some pretty damn tasty snacks, and I actually got her to smile a couple times." He laughed, "and it may suck having to walk around with my butt hanging out, but I gotta say the view's worth it when everyone dresses like that. It's like those ancient National Geographic magazines Mom had in the attic that we used to look at when we were kids just to stare at the tits."

"Jake!" Tom thwapped the back of his head. "I hope you're not staring at her...assets all the time! That's the last thing we need, you causing some kind of massive insult to the clan. Besides, she's already spoken for. If you pull a Pocahontas so help me God I'll beat your crippled ass from here to next week."

"I know, I know," Jake pouted, "shit, you're as bad as her, hitting me in the back of the head. What, do I have a sign there that says "I heart concussions" or something?" He rubbed the back of his head. "Hey, also, there's this thing she keeps calling me and she won't tell me what it means."

"Are you sure you want to know," Tom grinned.

"Hey, if I'm being insulted I wanna at least know how much I'm being insulted," Jake shook his head.

"So what's she calling you?" Tom asked.

"Skong, or something like that," Jake watched his brother's face.

Tom snorted. "Yeah, that sounds about right, but your accent's absolutely horrible," he said_. "Skxawng_ means "moron", pretty much."

"Great," Jake shook his head, "I guess I've been called worse, though."

"I know I've called you worse," Tom laughed.

"Yeah I can think of a few times," Jake agreed, in too good a mood to really get mad at his twin.

* * *

After a quick dinner, the two headed back to their respective rooms, and Jake couldn't help but notice that Tom's expression had shifted from a grin to a thoughtful, slightly worried frown. He was not that surprised, then, when instead of heading for his own room, Tom followed him into his.

"Jake," Tom said as the door closed behind him, "I need to talk to you about something. Something serious, and I need you to keep it to yourself."

"Yeah sure," Jake nodded, wheeling over to his bunk and hauling himself laboriously out of his chair.

"I need your impression of Quaritch. A military man's impression. A lot of the scientists don't really trust him, they think he's overzealous, and spoiling for a fight." Tom bit his lip, glancing around the room, then switched to "twin" before continuing. "_They told me the military attacked the school we set up here, and I've seen what they did to one of the teachers who was only trying to protect little children. I need to know if you think it was..._" he hesitated. "twin" had never needed a word for "sanctioned" before, "_if it was allowed or if it was just those soldiers overreacting._"

Jake nodded, and he thought about it seriously for a minute. "_I...will have to see,_" he said finally, "_I think it may be possible you're right. He does seem very happy to find reasons to fight. He told us that the natives would attack without being provoked but that doesn't seem to line up with what I've been seeing. I mean, sure, lots of the warriors don't like me much but they listen to Neytiri and her dad, and I gotta admit I haven't given them any reason yet to like me, I'd probably be just as pissed off in their position. Quaritch, though...I know what you mean. I've seen that kind of man before, the kind that wants a fight and will do whatever to make sure it happens. He might be like that, or he might just be a little too excited and need a closer look at what's really going on out there._" He looked over to meet his brother's eyes. "_You should know that he has me doing recon while I'm out there. Maybe I should be...holding back a little?_"

"_He wants you to tell him how to find his way around Hometree?_" Tom paled.

"_It's where the biggest deposit is,_" Jake sighed, "_you know they won't just give up on that. If you want me to play it close to the chest I'll do it for now, though, at least until I get a better idea of what's going on here._" He shook his head, "_I'll do it for your sake, but you're gonna owe me. I don't like doing things that smack of disobeying._" He frowned. Twin didn't have a word for "insubordination" either, but that was definitely what this was heading toward, and even for his twin brother, he didn't like the sound of that. He'd seen before what happened when you had a bad, battle-crazed commander, though. He knew only too well. He was living with the consequences, after all. "_Look,_" he said finally, "_I know what having the wrong man in command can do, but ultimately he__** is**__ the guy in command. There's only so much either one of us can do about it_."

"I know," Tom nodded, switching back to English and standing, patting Jake on the shoulder, "and I appreciate that, believe me. Now you'd better get some shut-eye. Tomorrow's gonna be another busy day, _Skxawng_ boy."

"Hey at least I'm doing something productive!" Jake yelled after him, throwing his dirty socks from the day before, which hit the door just as it closed. He rolled his eyes and laughed slightly, somehow reminded of their childhood. He'd always had the top bunk. He fuckin' missed the top bunk damnit. The top bunk had always been the perfect spot to use for dropping "missiles" (otherwise known as dirty socks and underwear) on his brother's head. He flopped back down onto his back, debating whether it was worth actually stripping for bed. Even given the fact that his body had technically been "sleeping" for most of the day, he was exhausted, and he knew morning was going to come far too early.

* * *

As it turned out, morning came even earlier than he'd thought it would. About two hours before dawn, his door opened and he groaned as Tom shook him awake.

"C'mon sleepyhead," Tom said, "up an' at'em!"

"What the fuck?" Jake groaned as he looked at the digital clock across from his bunk, "it's way too early to be up yet."

"You're shipping out," Tom said, throwing clothes into a bag and tossing a clean sweatshirt and pants in Jake's direction. "Grace said she's moving you and Norm to one of the field stations."

"What?" Jake frowned as he struggled to get his pants off and the clean ones on.

"She seems pretty pissed off at Selfridge," Tom said, "so it's probably something to do with that."

"Great," Jake stretched and humped himself over to his chair. "So she's pissed with the guy in charge and I have to go hang out with two science geeks in the middle of nowhere?"

"You'll live," Tom said, "frankly I'm a little jealous."

"So why don't you go then?" Jake rolled his eyes.

"Somebody's got to stay here and make sure the place doesn't fall apart," Tom threw Jake's bag into his lap.

"I guess," Jake shrugged, wheeling for the door.

Norm was rubbing his eyes when they ran into him in the hallway. "What's going on?" he yawned.

"We're heading for the mountains, apparently," Jake said.

"The mountains?" Norm blinked, then a grin bloomed on his face, "the Hallelujah Mountains? Awesome!"

"What's so special about the mountains?" Jake was confused.

"Haven't you ever heard of the legendary floating mountains of Pandora?" Norm laughed. It wasn't a derisive laugh though. He sounded like a ten-year-old who'd just been told he was going to get to go to Disneyland.

* * *

Even though he knew he shouldn't be feeling left out, Tom couldn't help feeling a little down as he watched the Sampson fly off with Norm's and Grace's avatars in the back. He shook his head and turned around, heading back to the lab. He might not be going with them but he still had plenty to do. Not least of which was to start organizing forays out into the forest. He knew just who he wanted with him, too. While he waited for everyone else to wake up, he settled himself in front of one of the computers and started recording a log. Good science is good observation and all that, after all.

He was fully involved in reading old reports half an hour later and thus didn't hear anyone come in, and wasn't aware of not being alone, in fact, until someone put their hands on his shoulders from behind and leaned forward to look at him.

"Well, aren't you being the pouty brooding little boy?" Louise grinned, "What happened? Got shot down when you asked a girl out?"

"I'm not pouting," Tom objected, "I happen to be thinking and concentrating, and no, I didn't get shot down, and I didn't ask anyone out either."

"Sure, sure, whatever you say," she moved away to sit down at her own station, checking her email before she was to start her day in her avatar.

Tom rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help flicking the camera on briefly just to check his expression. He didn't think he was pouting but he definitely didn't look like his usual chipper self. He scrubbed his face with his hands, slapping himself a couple of times to make sure he was fully awake, then smiled at his image. Ah yes, much better. "Do you know if Cathy's up yet?" he asked Louise.

"She's usually up by now," Louise nodded, "but Tom? Be careful with her. I'm sure the two of you have a bit of history between you, and I know you maybe do or maybe don't want to pick up where you left off, but her time here has changed her. She never talks about it but I think she had a man out there, a... _tìyawnyu_?" she frowned, "if that's the word. I'm making a language leap but I think that's the term." She laughed ruefully, "not one we had to learn in training. They never teach you the useful stuff, honestly."

"You mean like a boyfriend?" Tom frowned, feeling a twinge of jealousy, "She never said anything..."

"She wouldn't," Louise nodded, "and I might be overstating the situation as it stood. In any case she hasn't been anywhere near the Omatikaya since the day they brought her avatar back with its arm hanging by threads of abraded bone. They said she'd lost her objectivity and couldn't be trusted out there anymore. It's amazing they let her link up again at all, frankly. I guess it came down to they couldn't afford not to. It's not like there are a ton of us drivers, after all." She bit her lips closed as she heard movement coming from the corridor. "I never said a word," she hissed to him just before Cathy came into the room.

Tom nodded at Louise, then turned to smile at Cathy. "Morning," he said, "I've been waiting for you to get here. I have an idea we need to discuss. You wanted to know what my diplomatic plan was, and I'll tell you right now, since my right-hand man just got co-opted to a different area, I'm going to need all the help I can get."

"I'll be intrigued once my coffee kicks in," she yawned, "but go on, do tell."

"I need a guide," he said, "someone at least partially familiar with the areas around Hometree. I'm not going to try to get really close, but I figure the more time I spend out there, the more likely it is someone will notice me and try to make contact. Even if it's just to tell me to get the hell away from them at this point I'll take it."

"If..." Cathy hesitated, rubbing her arm even though she was in her human body, not her avatar one, "if you can convince the higher-ups you need me, then I'm your man. Woman. _Uniltìranyu_. Whatever." She laughed a little, "Clearly I'm not awake yet. You're a cruel man, Sully, making me think at this hour when I'm only here to pretend to work until I link up."

"Well then forget I said anything for now, and you can act all surprised when I get permission," he laughed, smiling at her, "I know how lack of caffeine can make the brain play tricks on a person."

"She's a cruel mistress, coffee," Louise agreed, yawning cavernously, then glancing at the clock, "and I'd better get in and link up. Dawn is fast approaching and my bio-luminescence experiments will all be wasted if I don't collect my samples exactly on time. I'll see you two out there," she waved at them as she finished keying in her sequence and laid back into the link bed.

"Aren't we supposed to have techs here when we link up?" Tom asked, looking at Cathy and then over to where Louise's link bed was disappearing into the wall.

"That's why I'm here," Cathy shook her head, "there really only has to be someone to keep an eye on the readings, and I can do that for her. The techs hate having to get up before dawn, so she and I have a system worked out. I get here to watch her go in, check my email and whatever else needs doing, then once the techs wake up and get here, I go in."

"Ah," Tom nodded, "makes sense to me." He turned back to his own paperwork, forcing himself not to ask her all the questions that his conversation with Louise had raised. They hadn't seen each other in...well, it only felt like four years. Technically it was more like a decade, but as far as he was concerned, cryo didn't count. Four years, but clearly it had been a long four years for her, and full of experiences of the kind that tended to change a person. He did have to ask one thing, though. "Are you sure you want to come with me, if I do get permission?" he asked her, "I mean, after what happened to you out there?"

She took a deep breath, and he could see she was forcing herself to meet his eyes. "I couldn't want it more," she said softly, "I'd jump at any chance to get back outside the fence, Tom. It's...incredible out there."

Tom smiled and nodded, then looked away. He wasn't sure what he was seeing in her eyes, but it definitely wasn't fear, and just now that was all that mattered.

* * *

**Alright, now for the words, in order of appearance:**

**_skxawng_ - I'm sure almost everyone here knows this means "moron"**

**_t__ì_****_yawnyu_ - As Louise said, I'm making a linguistic leap here. My best guess of "lover" although more in the Japanese sense of "koibito" "one who is loved" or "one who loves" than the English "one with whom there is physical love". The word is made from _tiyawn_ - "love" and "-_yu_" - the nominative suffex (think of how "hunt" in English becomes "hunter" and so on)**

**_unilt__ì_****_ranyu_ - Dreamwalker, the Na'vi word for an Avatar. (and here again we see the nominative suffex -_yu_)**

* * *

**I gotta say I love hauling my language geek out and giving her a good brushing off. Very fun and stimulating!**

**Thanks for reading, all!  
**


	6. Chapter 5: Captured!

**Bit longer this time, and certain plot points have finally resolved themselves (mostly because certain muses took over and told me in no uncertain terms just what they were going to do)**

**Also a few new original characters, all of which belong to me only. XD Not sure I want to claim Apxey but what can you do, maybe he'll redeem himself later, you never know.**

**As always, Na'vi translations to follow. Enjoy!

* * *

  
**

Brotherhood Chapter 5: Captured!

It took him nearly a week, but Tom finally did manage to convince them to let him and Cathy out into the jungles on exploratory expeditions. Now that Jake was getting himself established out there, he'd pointed out, the natives were maybe more inclined to listen again, and it would be no good to let the chance go to waste.

As he sat in the back of the Sampson, Tom glanced over at Cathy. She had managed somehow to find a shirt with three-quarter-length sleeves, and there was an odd look in her eyes that he could almost imagine was fear and longing combined. He wondered once again what had happened to her out in the forest before, but he knew bringing her with him was the right thing to do. She needed to face this again, to prove to herself that she could do it.

They landed near the same spot where Grace had put down the day Jake ran into the Thanator. "We'll signal you when to pick us up again," he said to the pilot.

"Awesome," the man scowled. "Just what I need, to be at the science geeks' beck and call all bloody day. Why can't you get Chacon to pick you up?"

"Because she's busy with other duties," Tom raised an eyebrow. "You should probably get out of here before you get yelled at for wasting fuel."

"Fine, have fun digging in the dirt, and don't get yourselves killed on my watch," the pilot snapped, "too much damned paperwork."

Tom just laughed and headed off in a slightly different direction than when they had encountered the thanator. Better safe than sorry, after all.

Once the sound of the rotor blades was gone completely, the normal forest sounds began to come back. Tom tried not to be unsettled by them, forcing himself to stay calm. Nothing sounded like a thanator, after all, and if it was just prolemuris then he'd look like a total idiot freaking out about nothing. Cathy wasn't freaking out, after all.

In fact, Cathy hadn't said a word since they landed. He walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Is it like you remember?" he asked.

She turned to him, and he could see there were tears threatening to brim over and trail down her cheeks. She nodded silently and reached a hand out to stroke the leaves of a fern softly. "It hasn't changed," she said finally. "I only wish I hadn't been away so long."

"Any suggestions of where we should check out first?" he asked her.

"Hmm..." she mused, "that way, I think. Toward the river. There is always more to see where the animals come down to the water to drink, and if we're very lucky we might see signs of hunters having passed by as well. You have to know what to look for."

They set off in the direction of the river they could hear faintly in the distance, Cathy in the lead and Tom right behind her. He watched as she gradually became more and more in tune with her surroundings, and gave her a confused look when she suddenly stopped.

"Tracks?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head, "these damned shoes are driving me crazy." She sat herself down on a root and started to unlace them, "always have. In this body especially. Na'vi aren't meant to have separation between their feet and the world, it's like having yourself half-blinded when you're walking in the woods." She got the shoes off, tucked her socks inside, tied the laces together and slung them around her neck. "Much better," she smiled as she dug her toes into the moss. "You really should try it, Tom."

"Thanks but I think I'll resist the urge to risk stubbing my toes," Tom rolled his eyes, "at least for now."

"Suit yourself," she shrugged with a smile and set off again, her pace quicker now.

Tom watched the way she was moving through the trees with interest. She wasn't walking like a human at all now, and he wondered how she'd ever learned to blend into the forest like that.

"Those kids teach you how to do that?" he asked.

"Do what?"

"Walk like you're invisible," he said. "Like you're part of the forest."

"No, it wasn't the children," she shook her head, "but I did learn lots of very useful skills in the time I was with the Omatikaya. Walking properly is only one." She glanced down and held a hand out to stop him. "Shh..." she warned, the tip of her tail twitching, "there's someone nearby."

"Are you sure?" Tom whispered, his head swiveling around, trying to see what she meant.

"Of course I'm sure," she frowned at him, "can't you hear the..." Her voice was cut off as four tall blue forms dropped from the trees all around them, the one behind her grabbing her with one arm around her mouth and the other holding a knife to her throat.

Tom had just enough time to spin and catch his first glimpse of a true Na'vi's face before he, too, was restrained and gagged, first with a three-fingered hand and then with a leather band between his teeth and another tying his hands behind him. Out of the corner of his eye he caught the sight of Cathy being similarly restrained, and she shook her head slightly, her eyes pleading with him not to struggle.

An excited whoop went up from their captors. "_We have caught you, Jhakesuuly,_" the one with the most elaborate hair grinned triumphantly, "_and we will bring you back to Neytiri. She will tell you what your punishment will be for putting on sky people clothing again and consorting with this dreamwalker female_," he ran his fingers through Cathy's mostly-loose hair.

Tom forced himself to remain calm. At least it looked as though they weren't going to be summarily shot on sight, and if they did bring him to Neytiri, Jake would almost certainly be in the same place, and then this would all get sorted out.

Cathy glared at the hunter and pulled her head away from his hand, her angry hiss audible even through the gag and her thrashing tail making her agitation obvious, but the hunter just laughed at her and picked her up, throwing her over the back of a _pa'li_ which came to his clucking call.

Tom was thrown over the back of another of the beasts, and felt the breath leave his body in a whoosh as the horse's spine impacted his diaphragm. Their captors quickly mounted up, their queues providing guidance to their animals as they cantered off through the forest, he presumed in the direction of Hometree.

This was hardly the way he'd wanted to meet the Na'vi, but as the saying goes, beggars can't be choosers, and at least this was better than an arrow through the heart and sudden death.

* * *

Neytiri, who was seated on a wide branch attempting to teach Jake a few more basic words in Na'vi - always a headache-inducing activity at the best of times - frowned as she heard a commotion below them and someone calling her name. What could they possibly want of her? She sighed, but then forced herself to remain calm. Perhaps someone had injured themselves or some other such difficulty and they needed her help. She quickly stood and glared briefly at Jake. "I must see why they need," she said, "you stay." She gestured with her hand flat in front of her, just in case he misunderstood, "stay here only."

She made her way quickly down to the ground, striding toward the noise, and was interrupted by a child who came running for her.

"_This way!_" the child tugged at her, "_the hunters need you._"

She let herself be pulled along, and frowned when she came to the clearing where four hunters waited with their _pa'li_. There were two bodies slung over the horses, wearing sky people clothing.

"_What is going on here?_" she demanded, "_Apxey, why are you capturing sky people?_"

"_I found your student, Neytiri,_" The hunter - Apxey - lifted Tom's head by the queue, "_Jhakesuuly, hiding in the forest talking with this dreamwalker female,_" he inclined his head toward the other prisoner.

"_Apxey, you are confused,_" she shook her head, "_I have been with Jhake all morning teaching, there is no way this is Jhake..._" She hesitated as she examined the prisoner's face. "_Although this one does look very similar._"

Her ear twitched as she heard a lound stumbling behind her that could only mean her student had disobeyed her. Again. She turned to glare. "I told you stay here," she told him sternly.

"Tommy?" Jake blinked as he arrived on the scene. He turned angrily to the hunter. "Let him go!" he insisted.

"Jhake, you know this..._uniltìranyu_?" she gestured.

"Of course I do," Jake nodded, "that's my brother, Tom."

"And the female?"

Jake frowned slightly. What was the girl's name again? Oh yeah. "Um, yeah," he nodded, "that's Cathy Seaton."

"Ka'tsi?" Neytiri hurried over to the other prisoner, lifting her head. "It is Ka'tsi! _Skxawng_!" she turned to the warrior, "_do you not recognize the one who taught the little children?_" She went over and gently helped Cathy down from the _pa'li_, removing the gag from her mouth and the bindings from her wrists.

Cathy rubbed her wrists and smiled carefully at Neytiri. "Thank you," she said, "_I See you, Neytiri Mo'at'ite._"

"_I See you, Ka'tsi,_" Neytiri nodded, "I am glad to see you well."

"And what about my brother?" Jake went over to help Tom down as well.

Apxey moved toward him but Neytiri held her hand up to stop the hunter. "You free his mouth, not hands," Neytiri said firmly as she watched the brothers.

"It's better than nothing," Tom said ruefully as he stretched as best he could, trying to get the kinks of being slung over the _pa'li_ out of his back. He turned to Neytiri. "_Thank you for your mercy,_" he said, "_may Eywa smile upon our meeting._"

Neytiri looked between the two brothers. "You look same but your politeness very different," she said with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Well of course we look the same," Jake shrugged, "we're twins."

"What is "too-ins"?" Neytiri sounded out the word.

"That is when two children are born together," Tom explained, "at the same time from the same mother."

"Oh!" Neytiri nodded, "_two souls one face_. We have this sometimes but it is not usual. It is...we say blessing of Eywa if both live." She looked between the brothers again, then she sighed. "I speak to _Sempul_, find out what to do with you. Come. Both come," she added as Tom started to follow her but Jake did not.

"What about Cathy?" Tom hesitated.

"Ka'tsi will be safe here," Neytiri smiled at the other woman, "now you come."

"I really will be fine," Cathy assured him, "you'd better do as she says."

"Right," Tom nodded and headed after Neytiri and Jake.

Left behind, Cathy watched carefully as the hunters who had captured them headed away. They looked a little disgruntled, but none of them looked to be openly hostile toward her, so she wasn't too worried. Feeling somewhat at loose ends, she wandered toward Hometree, looking around her and smiling. It felt...good to be back here again. It felt almost...right. It felt even better when she was quickly bombarded by little children, all calling her name and trying to get her attention. She sat down in the middle of the group with a big smile. "_I have missed you all,_" she said, "_Come, sit, tell me what is new with all of you_."

One of the little girls crawled up into her lap. "_We have missed you, Ka'tsi sa'nu!_" she said, hugging Cathy. "_Why did you leave? Why did you not come back?_"

"_I was not allowed to come back, 'evi_," she stroked the girl's back, "_otherwise I would have been here every day_."

"_I heard the children calling your voice,_" Cathy heard a man say from behind her, "_but I almost did not believe._"

She turned her head to see a middle-aged Na'vi man standing there, his shoulders draped with a distinctive beadwork chestpiece. She set the girl down off her lap and got to her feet a little nervously. "_Kxawn'e sempul,_" she whispered, her eyes down, "_I am sorry, I did not mean to stop my studies with you._"

"_I know Ka'tsi 'ite,_" he put a hand on her shoulder, "_I know this was not your choice. Come, share my lunch with me and we will speak._"

Cathy nodded, looking down at her hands as she followed him. She could feel her heart beating almost hard enough to burst through her chest. She had never hoped to be here again, not after what had happened at the school and when she was brought back to the compound. She had all but given up, especially in the last year, and to be back here again...to see the children again...to see... She bit her lip. She could not allow herself to have any expectations.

She followed Kxawn'e to a small alcove in the roots of Hometree. She had been here many times before, when she was learning from the High Singer, and in some ways it had become like a home away from home. She was glad to be back, even if only for a little while.

"_Sit, 'ite, I will bring the food,_" he said, gently pressing down on Cathy's shoulders.

Cathy obediently sat, relaxing down into the spot that had always been hers during lessons and meals and closing her eyes, breathing in the familiar scents and listening to the familiar sounds of life bustling around her. She wanted to absorb every bit of her time here, since she had no idea what was going to happen and whether they would be allowed to stay.

She heard someone come in and move around, and she assumed Kxawn'e was back with lunch and would call to her when it was ready to eat, so she didn't bother to open her eyes yet.

"_Ka'tsi?_" there was a whisper and a warm hand touched her face oh-so-gently.

Her eyes snapped open. "Antsu?" she whispered, feeling the tears coming to her eyes, threatening to overflow.

"_You left,_" the young male said, his thumb going out to wipe away a tear from her cheek, "_You did not come back, you did not send word..._" He shook his head, "_I feared at first you were dead, or that you were so injured you would never recover._"

"_I was forbidden to return, and I could not escape from the place where our bodies sleep_," she said sadly, "_I would have sent word if there was any way...I did not __**want**__ to leave you!_" she insisted.

Antsu nodded silently. He leaned forward until his forehead touched hers, his arms going around her. "_I did not think you would abandon me willingly_," he admitted, "_but you can understand, my heart faltered without you. I wanted to go to your place, to take you home where you belonged, but Sempul said I should not endanger both of us that way._" He hugged her tightly, "_And now Eywa has heard my prayers and brought you back to me._"

Cathy nodded silently, cuddling into his embrace gladly. "_She has answered my prayers also. I only hope a reason will be found for me to stay._"

"_We will find one...or we will make one,_" Antsu reassured her, "_I will not get you back only to lose you once more._" His hand tugged at her long sleeves, suddenly. "_Are you not hot? The day is nearing its peak, you should change. I have a few of your old things,_" he admitted, "_I saved them from the shelter near the school where you and Toktor Grace used to sleep sometimes._"

"_That's...I will be fine,_" she smiled at him, "_I am used to these clothes._" She rubbed her arm a little self-consciously.

He frowned. That was a new gesture and it did not have good implications. He had heard something of what had happened at the school from the little children, he knew she had been injured in some way. "_That is where they...hurt you? When you protected the little ones?_" he slipped his hand over hers on her arm, "_You should not be ashamed, it is a mark of your honour, not shame for you, only for those who caused it._"

"_But it's so... It is not pretty,_" she shook her head.

"_Let me see,_" he insisted, sliding his hand down and under the loose sleeve, then pushing it up. He hissed when he saw the ragged scar that encircled her upper arm, and his free hand clenched. He had seen the mess that was left behind at the now-abandoned school, and he had seen the blood, but who was to know whose blood was whose? Na'vi and sky people all bled the same colour, strangely enough, so there had been no way for him to tell how much was hers. From the look of the scar, though, her injury had been severe.

"_I almost lost the arm_," she said quietly, "_They were able to repair it but they blamed me for doing something foolish and causing them to have to put so much effort into fixing me. It was one of the reasons they did not let me return._"

Antsu leaned over and gently kissed the scar with a small smile. "There, all better," he said with a smile, "_Is that not what you used to tell the children when they had hurt themselves?_"

She laughed. "Yes, that's right," she agreed. "_How is it you always know how to cheer me up?_"

He grinned. "_Because I am just that remarkable?_" he teased her, "_Or is it because you are just that easy to cheer._"

"_No,_" she shook her head, "_I think it is just because you are you._"

"_That could be,_" he admitted, moving to sit down next to her and pull her against his side, "_now let us stop discussing it and do something better instead. Sempul only granted me so much time alone before he comes back,_" he pointed out.

Cathy smiled. "_He never told me he was sending you in,_" she laughed, "_Perhaps he wanted to surprise me. But tell me; you said you could __**make**__ a reason for me to stay?_"

That made him laugh a little and pull her tighter against him, placing a finger to her lips. "_Ka'tsi yawne, you talk too much,_" he scolded her, then he replaced his finger with his lips, kissing her gently. His tail came up to wrap around her hips, the tip settling against her inner thigh.

"_You still...even after I was gone for so long?_" she whispered.

"_Even when you were away, your place was here,_" he said firmly, "_Your home is here, with me. It has been more than two years since Sempul confirmed my training was done but I have waited for you to return to me. I would have waited forever,_" he added softly, "_Now truly this is too much talk and not enough kissing._"

"_True,_" she giggled and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around him and ending up pretty much in his lap.

She was still cuddled close and kissing him a few minutes later when Antsu gently pulled back. "_I believe our time is up for the moment,_" he warned her, tucking her head under his chin, "_Welcome back, Sempul,_" he said with a smile.

Cathy watched as Kxawn'e ducked through the entrance, carrying two large trays of fruits and vegetables.

"_Good,_" the High Singer smiled, "_I had hoped that given a little time alone your smiles would return. Mo'at and Eytukan are still meeting with the other who came with you,_" he said to Cathy, "_but that is more suggestive of a good outcome than bad. If their plan was to outright forbid you to stay they would have decided that already._"

"_Thank you, Kxawn'e Sempul,_" Cathy nodded, blushing a little. She would have moved to a more polite distance, but Antsu's arm was very firmly keeping her in place, and honestly she didn't really want to move, so she gracefully gave in, although she drew the line at letting him feed her. She nipped at his fingers and shook her head.

"_Alright,_" he grinned, "_later then._"

Kxawn'e just smiled to himself. Children were always the same, no matter how mature they presumed themselves to be.

* * *

**Ah poor Tom, he never really had a chance with her, apparently. News to me as that was originally the reason I created her, but sometimes one's characters get away from one, and sometimes they have unexpected pasts...**

**At least she's happy LOL  
**

* * *

**And now for the glossary:**

**_pa'li_ - "direhorse", Pandoran animal which the Na'vi ride much like we would ride horses  
_uniltìranyu_ - again, this is the Na'vi word for an avatar, literal translation is "dreamwalker"  
_skxawng_ - Yup, this is "moron". ^_^  
_Mo'at'ite_ - Neytiri's Matronymic, it makes addressing her more formal. Translation is "Daughter of Mo'at"  
_sempul_ - Father  
_sa'nu_ - Mommy/Mama/any other affectionate shortening of Mother  
_'evi_ - "kid", affectionate shortening of "_'eveng_" or "child"  
_'ite_ - Daughter  
_Toktor _- "Doctor", loanword from English  
_yawne_ - "Beloved"  
**


	7. Chapter 6: Negotiations

**Sorry for the massively long wait for this chapter. All I can say is that a deadly combination of practicum, section exam, lab class and filler chapter killed my writing speed last week.**

**Well, that and being very distracted by the AWESOMENESS OF THE OLYMPICS GO CANADA!**

**Anyway, no new characters this chapter, just stage-setting. As before, any words in Na'vi are translated at the end.**

**Oh, and I promise the next chapter will be more entertaining. Not that this one doesn't have its moments, of course!  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 6: Negotiations

Meanwhile, Tom was deep in discussion with the heads of the Omatikaya tribe. He knew his explanations had to be both truthful and...as unscientific as possible, because from everything he'd seen, read and been told by Cathy, the People didn't think that way.

"_So if, as you say, there is some level of disagreement among the sky people, how are we to know which sky people are trustworthy?_" Eytukan frowned.

"_A valid question,_" Tom admitted, "_and one which I cannot entirely answer. It would be easy to say "all the soldiers are bad, all the scientists are good" but that is not necessarily the truth. In the time I have been here, which is, I admit, not long yet, I would say I trust the scientists, but I do not know enough about each individual soldier to know which ones to trust or not._"

"_And yet your brother, Jhakesuuly, is trustworthy,_" Mo'at pointed out.

"_As I said, not all soldiers are necessarily bad. It is more that they are...well they are trained to think in certain ways and to obey their orders without question. Even if they might not entirely agree with what they are being asked to do, it often takes extreme circumstances to cause them to go against their orders._" Tom shifted his position slightly, still not entirely sure what to do with his tail sometimes, especially while sitting down.

"_I think I begin to understand,_" Eytukan nodded, "_Warriors must of course follow the directions of their leaders, but when that goes on for too long, it becomes difficult for them to remember how to think for themselves again._"

"_Exactly!_" Tom nodded, "_And if those leaders are..._" he frowned. He didn't know the Na'vi word for "corrupt", but maybe... "_If those leaders are rotten, as sometimes a fruit may be rotten inside while still looking ripe on the outside, then following their orders can be a bad thing, even when normally, following orders is a good thing._"

Mo'at nodded thoughtfully. "_We among the People also have seen this, although it does not commonly happen. There are indeed songs which warn of the dangers of those who wear a fair face but have corruption, poison, inside their hearts. From the way you speak perhaps this is what you fear for your own people?_"

"_I do,_" Tom nodded, "_I greatly fear that and as yet I have no way to counter it. I am only one among many, and not in any position of power among my people except for what I am able to gain through my accomplishments._"

"_I understand,_" Eytukan turned to his mate and smiled slightly, "_probably better than you suspect. But we will not rescind our decree keeping the dreamwalkers away. At least not entirely. You are welcome to set up a place for yourself nearby, and perhaps some of the People will visit with you there to learn more. You, like your brother, are less...closed into your own head. Your brother will of course continue to learn with us, as Eywa dictates._"

"_Thank you,_" Tom bowed low, "_You are far more generous than I had hoped for. And who is to be allowed to come to this...home in the woods? I came here with a companion, and I know that Grace very much would like to be allowed near again as well._"

"_A companion?_" Mo'at turned to her daughter, "_Did you see this companion, Neytiri?_"

"_It is Ka'tsi, the teacher of the little children, who he brought with him, Mother,_" Neytiri nodded, "_I could bring her to you if you wish to test her heart..._"

Mo'at smiled. "_That will not be necessary,_" she shook her head, "_I already know her heart. She is welcome among us. There would be uproar among the singers if she was forbidden now that she has returned._"

Neytiri looked surprised, but she didn't think this was the time to ask for clarification. "_As you say, then, Ma Sanok,_" she nodded.

"_You should take your noon meal with us,_" Eytukan said to Tom, "_and we will then take you to the places which might suit you to build your shelter._"

Mo'at met Jake's eye and could see how unsettled he was getting. "And we should speak your language, I believe your brother's patience is decreasing."

Tom turned to look at Jake and smiled apologetically. "I'll give you the translation later," he said, "but it's good news. Not the least of which is it's time for lunch."

"Lunch is good," Jake's frown turned to a relieved expression, "learning language all morning made me hungry."

Mo'at watched them, shaking her head, "It is remarkable how alike the two of you are. Were it not for your clothing I might easily mistake one for the other."

"We're used to it," Jake shrugged, "we always used to get mistaken for each other, especially when we were kids."

"Oh yeah," Tom nodded, "I seem to remember you taking advantage of that more than once," he grinned at Jake.

"And then there were the times you tried to get me to do your gym physicals for you," Jake grinned back.

"Well I still say they were stupid," Tom shrugged, "and it worked."

Eytukan and Mo'at looked at each other, slightly confused by the brothers' conversation. It always seemed just when one thought they were beginning to understand the sky people, they became more confusing than before.

* * *

When they had finished lunch and the last remnants were being licked from fingers, Tom looked around. "Do you know where Cathy is?" he asked Neytiri, "She should come along with us when we figure out where we're going to put this place for us to stay."

"She should," Neytiri nodded, "I will bring her." She unfolded herself with remarkable grace and disappeared almost silently among the roots of Hometree.

Tom found himself finally having an opportunity to look around him and just take in the experience of being among the Na'vi, and it was...it was so much more than he had ever thought. There were Na'vi of all ages moving about, taking care of chores, children playing in amongst the roots and climbing up the tree, a couple tucked away into a dark corner, tails wrapped around each others' waists. He struggled with the need to retain his distance, his scientific focus, but it was difficult. Even though he was an outsider and he knew it, there was such a feeling of inclusion and just...being a part not only of the people around him but the forest as a whole.

"It sure is something, isn't it," Jake said, moving over to sit next to him, "I mean, you know I'm no treehugger or anything like that, but the way they just...fit into the rest of the forest is pretty incredible. Even with my marine recon training, I still can't hear Neytiri coming up behind me, and she's not even _trying_, you know?"

"You sure you aren't just distracted?" Tom laughed, "but no, I know exactly what you mean. How are you managing here?"

"It's going good," Jake shrugged, "Sure, learning the language is kinda a pain, but I'll get there eventually, and the other stuff, the hunting and tracking and that, it's..." He thought for a minute, "I dunno, it's just good. I like it. I know this sounds weird but even with Neytiri grumping at me when I do something wrong, it feels good to just be doing something and having a real reason to do it, not just because some superior feels like I shouldn't be sitting on my butt, but because I'm gonna contribute to the needs of everyone else." He shook his head, "And that sounds incredibly corny, but..."

"No, I get it," Tom shook his head, patting Jake's shoulder, "I get it."

Jake laughed then. "And I'm still just a baby, according to Neytiri. She says I can barely even walk, let alone climbing and actually hunting. I still have a long way to go."

"Of course you are a baby," Neytiri rolled her eyes as she came up behind them, "Always you will be a baby. That one also," she grinned as Tom had clearly almost jumped out of his skin. "Ka'tsi will join us shortly, she is...busy," She had a strange expression on her face as she went over to speak quietly with her parents.

Tom wondered what could have unsettled her so, but as he looked around, he saw Cathy walking toward them along with an older male who looked, from his decorative chestpiece, to be someone of some importance, and a younger male who was... Tom blinked. Was that guy's arm around her shoulder? And was her tail intertwined with his? What the... He shook his head. "I guess that answers that question," he said softly.

"Hmm?" Jake asked, then he followed his brother's gaze, "Isn't Cathy the old friend you were trying to flirt with when we got here?"

"Not doing any more of that," Tom sighed, "I have a feeling I might just wake up dead. Or at least with a lot of bruises." He looked at them again, "She looks happy though, so I guess I'll have to bow out gracefully. Louise did warn me, but you know I'm not always so good about listening to those kind of warnings."

"Yeah, you always figured you could get any girl you wanted," Jake laughed, "don't worry, I'm sure you'll move on to your next possible conquest soon enough."

"Hey, I'm not like that," Tom objected, "at least not any more. I haven't counted conquests since we were fifteen."

"That's because you found out that Jenny Carter thought she was dating me instead of you," Jake grinned at him, "but it's okay, I'll let you go easy, given your clearly shattered heart right now."

Tom shoved his brother playfully then stood up as the three got closer and walked over to meet them. "So, now I see why you were so willing to come along with me into the forest," he said to Cathy with a smile.

"I might have had some...ulterior motives," she admitted, blushing, "but I also did agree with you that it was a good idea, and I know you picked me because I was the most likely to be able to help you learn how to make your way through the forests without turning into _palulukan_ lunch like that one almost did," she gestured at Jake. "The Na'vi look suits you Jake, I hear you're fitting in fairly well."

"I'm trying," Jake shrugged, "you look like you fit in pretty well yourself."

"Well, I did spend almost a year living among the Na'vi when we had our school here," Cathy flushed slightly, "even if we didn't spend the nights at Hometree or adopt the native dress."

"You...are who brought Ka'tsi back to me?" the young male stepped toward Tom, "I say thankyou very much. I am Antsu. This," he nodded to the older male, "is my father, Kxawn'e. He is..." Antsu glanced over at Cathy, "_What were the 'inglisì words you gave him_?"

Cathy patted Antsu's hand. "High singer," she said, moving forward to stand next to him again and smiling, "Kxawn'e is basically what we might call a historian or librarian, but of course nothing is written down, so he keeps it all in his head." She glanced over at the High Singer with a nod of respect.

"_I See you, Antsu,_" Tom nodded politely, "_I See you, Kxawn'e._ _I am Tom Sully, brother to Jake._"

"_I See you Tomsuuly,_" Antsu smiled slightly.

"_Any friend of Ka'tsi 'ite is welcome in my home,_" Kxawn'e added somewhat more formally.

"Neytiri said something about you needing me to come with you somewhere?" Cathy said.

"Yes," Tom nodded. He turned and bowed toward Eytukan and Mo'at. "With the gracious permission of the Olo'ektan and Tsahik, we will be building a small house nearby where we can visit and study, and the Omatikaya can visit with us. I wanted your help picking the right spot."

That made Cathy's smile widen into a grin. "I'll gladly help with that," she said, "and that should save you from the awkward task of having to explain to our superiors why I wasn't planning on coming back tonight."

"Um..." Tom nodded, "yes, I definitely appreciate that."

"And once the house is built there should be no surprise if I choose to stay the night, right?" she said firmly.

"No, of course not." Tom nodded, glancing at Jake and frowning when he saw the expression on his twin's face. He just knew Jake was thinking "whipped".

"Come on then," Cathy chuckled, "the day's a'wastin'! If we're going to get started on this today we'd better get going. There's a spot I think I remember from before that might work."

"_Or there is the old house near the school,_" Antsu pointed out, "_It is still in good repair. I made sure of that, although the school itself we returned to Eywa._"

"_There is that,_" Eytukan nodded, having approached as they were talking, "_I did not realize it had been kept up, although I suppose you had reason, and I had not forbidden it, mostly because I did not think to._" He looked from Antsu to Cathy, "_I can see your reason was a good one,_" he conceded.

"_I never even thought of that,_" Cathy smiled at Antsu, "_It will definitely do for now, although if we are going to spend much time there it might need to be expanded a bit. I seem to remember it being quite cramped if both Grace and I were in there at the same time._"

"_Well, why don't we go out to the house and see for ourselves,_" Mo'at gave them all a "look", "_Discussing is all well and good, but talk does not fill bellies, nor keep one warm and safe at night._"

"_You are very wise, Mo'at Tsahik,_" Antsu nodded, Taking Cathy's hand once more and turning them toward the direction of the former school.

Mo'at shook her head with a wry expression. "_That is a wisdom of all women, not only Tsahik,_" she said, "_You are not yet mated, you will learn._"

* * *

Tom hadn't known what to expect of the "small house" but when they got there he realized just what Cathy had meant about it being cramped. It would have been the size of a decent log cabin if they were human, but for the much taller (and thus longer when reclining) avatar and Na'vi bodies, it was...well, it was tall enough, but not big enough. It felt like being in a child's play-house.

"It was never meant to be anything more than a place to store a few extra clothes and catch a nap or lie down safely if we needed to unlink during the day," Cathy explained, "and maybe to eat after school was done, if it was raining. We spent nights sometimes, but it was never what you would call comfortable."

"It's definitely going to need to be bigger if we plan to spend any extended time here," Tom nodded, "but materials are going to be a bit..."

"We can't cut anything down to get materials," Cathy nodded emphatically, "but I don't think that should be a problem. There is plenty of material just lying around that can be used, the structure of the trees here is much more sturdy, and even wood that's been down for a couple of years will still be able to yield plenty of usable boards and beams. That's what we did before, when we built the school," she added.

"Who's going to do the construction, though," Tom worried at his lower lip, "I mean, I know nothing at all about building, and although I could probably follow a plan and nail something together it would probably be a pretty slow undertaking without the necessary skills."

"You'll have to ask Grace about that. I wasn't here when they built this one, I only heard about it after," Cathy admitted, "maybe they had guys in AMP suits or maybe some of the other avatars know more about construction."

"I'll talk to her about it tonight after I go to sleep," Jake said.

"She's going to be over the moon when she finds out she can come back here," Cathy grinned.

"I somehow have trouble picturing that," Jake glanced at Tom, who just shrugged.

"I guess anything is possible," Tom said softly.

"If all is organized, Jake still has lessons," Neytiri pointed out, "and much to do before night comes."

"Guess I've got my marching orders," Jake rolled his eyes, "I'll talk to you later." He waved as he took off at a run after Neytiri.

Tom watched them go, shaking his head. Neytiri might say Jake was like a child, but he was already starting to fit in, and Tom couldn't figure out why, but it was giving him a sinking feeling. It was a good thing, but at the same time, it was somehow worrying. He found himself almost jealous. Ridiculous, really. He knew better than to expect that his twin was going to stick next to him all the time like when they were kids, Jake and he had been even more separate in distance than this before, but this was different somehow, it was a more...substantial separation.

* * *

**See? Not totally boring, but definitely plot-moving filler**

**And now for the vocab:**

**_Sanok_ - Mother**  
**_palulukan_ - Thanator: the pantherlike apex predator of the Pandoran jungle**  
**_'inglisì _- English language (a loanword, obviously, from English)**  
**_'ite_ - daughter**  
**_Tsahik_ - Matriarch and spiritual leader, interpreter of he will of Eywa**


	8. Chapter 7: Don't Overthink Things

**And we're back on track and up to speed again, whee! This is one chapter I wish someone could illustrate for me. You'll see what I mean when you get to the end ^_~**

**Coming up soon(ish): a chapter or chapters worth the M rating!  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 7: Don't Overthink Things

That night, before they had returned to Hell's Gate, while they were waiting for their ride, Cathy had turned to Tom with a worried expression. "I know we're supposed to record all our impressions of everything," she said, "but I need you to keep quiet about..."

"About exactly how close you and Antsu are. Don't worry," he shook his head, "I wasn't going to say anything. Although you could've given me a hint or two so I didn't feel like such a tool for flirting with you these past couple weeks."

"Aww, poor Tommy-boy," she patted his shoulder, grinning, "did I lead you on? I wasn't trying to. I honestly never even realized you were flirting. I just figured you were being brotherly, like before."

"Hey!" he objected, "I was flirting back then, too!"

"Really? You weren't just trying to act like an annoying little brother?" she raised an eyebrow at him, "sorry, I've never been that good at reading those kinds of clues."

Tom sighed, "Oh gee thanks, burst my bubble why don't you?"

"It's okay," she said, her smile kinder, less teasing, "the right woman for you will come along one of these days, you'll see. As they say here, _Eywa will provide_."

Tom frowned slightly. "You really believe that? You believe their deity exists?"

Cathy turned to him fully and gave him a "look". "I know she does," she said, "and if you ever figure out how to use this thing," she held his queue up in front of his face, "you will too. Don't worry," she added when she saw his expression, "I haven't gone insane. Things are different here, connected in ways that humans cannot even comprehend." She dropped his queue again and turned to look out at the forest, "You're new here still, you'll learn," she said quietly, then one ear flicked, "and our ride is about to arrive, time to return to the nightmare."

She didn't explain that comment no matter how many times he asked her what she'd meant. All she would say to him was "you'll learn".

* * *

Between days spent in construction on what was being called the "forest house" and nights on base attempting to record all his impressions of Na'vi life, it wasn't until he looked at the date on his video log one night that Tom realized almost a month had passed since he was first captured in the forest with Cathy. It seemed like no time had passed at all, and yet at the same time, he felt like he'd been living with the Na'vi forever. Some of that could be put down to all his study and training before he arrived, but most of it was simply the way they had become everpresent. He knew there were warriors keeping an eye on the build team at all times, but even beyond that, people had started to ... He stopped his thought. "Na'vi," he said out loud, "Na'vi have started to visit, that's what I meant to think." He shook his head. He'd thought he'd known better than to get too involved, but it had been an insidious sort of process that he hadn't even become aware of. He was still fighting for distance, but it was like a drowning man fighting for the surface of a deep ocean, and wondering if it wouldn't just be possible that he had mermaid genes and could just breathe down there, if only he'd try; that all the fighting was silly and pointless.

He hadn't said anything about it to Grace, of course, but the way she was with the kids that dropped in all the time...he could tell she knew what he was going through. She knew, and had probably already gone through it herself and come out the other side. Cathy was... He laughed, shaking his head. Cathy had obviously not worried about cultural separation for quite some time now, but then again, she was a linguist, not an anthropologist. Different specializations, even if they did start in the same undergrad classes. Soon the house would be finished, and Cathy would have every believable excuse out there to stay the night...for her _avatar_ to stay the night, he reminded himself, her real body would still be here, in a link bed...and when that happened, he prettymuch knew what she was going to be doing. And Na'vi mated for life. How was she going to deal with that? She wasn't going to be able to hide it from everyone forever, although of course he would help her, and he knew although Grace would lecture her about it, she would help as well. He suspected most of the avatar drivers would help, if they knew. They understood what it was to become...more at ease with being in their new body than the old.

And what would happen when the inevitable came about and Cathy got pregnant? He knew female Na'vi biology was different but not how, that wasn't his area of study, after all. He crossed his arms on the table and rested his head on them, sighing. He was thinking too far ahead, as usual. They had bigger concerns than a possible pregnancy of a colleague who hadn't even consummated her relationship yet. Like the dozers he suspected were still moving toward Hometree. He'd told Selfridge they needed more time, that relations were improving but not overnight, but that one only looked to the bottom line, and Tom didn't know any better way to convince him than what he'd already tried.

"Hey blue boy," Louise poked him in the back of the head, "you need to get some rest, you look dead."

"Oh gee thanks," he rolled his eyes, pushing back from the desk, the wheels of his chair smoothly spinning him around to look at her, "and I'm not blue at the moment, I'm pink, in case you hadn't noticed."

"I was speaking metaphorically," she laughed, "not literally. You look like you've got a lot on your mind. Care to share?"

"It's all stupid worries," he shook his head, "nothing to write home about."

"Anything to get mildly buzzed over?" she held out a beer just out of his reach.

"Naw," he shook his head, but he laughed a little, "not even worth that much. Mildly buzzed, though?"

"Well, even on a 'driver salary I can't afford enough booze on this damned rock to get really toasted," she pointed out, "and we both have to work tomorrow. Ever tried to link up drunk? I've done it once, and I really don't recommend it."

"Where'd you ever get enough booze?" he asked, standing up and stretching, listening to the vertebrae of his back pop in sequence all the way down.

"Some high-up type had a party and I managed to schmooze my way in," she grinned, "it was awesome, but so not worth the pain the next day." She laughed and dragged him by the arm, "c'mon, tell big sis all about it, I promise I won't laugh at you too much."

"Fine, fine," he sighed, "I can tell I'm not getting out of this one with my dignity intact if I refuse. Come on, let's find a quiet airlock somewhere and get, as you put it, mildly buzzed."

* * *

Meanwhile, up in the Hallelujah Mountains, Norm had pulled Jake aside as the ex-marine was heading to his bunk for a little sleep after yet another rambling video log.

"C'I talk to you for a sec?" Norm asked, glancing into the other room to make sure Grace was asleep.

"Yeah sure Norm," Jake yawned, "but if this is about my pronunciations again can we just leave it for tomorrow? Neytiri has me doing six-hour endurance runs all this week, I'm beat."

"It's about Tom," Norm shook his head. It no longer bothered Norm that Jake was the one who'd become immersed deep in Na'vi daily life. His jealousy hadn't burned long. He didn't have it in him, for one thing, and then there was...Well, he was just as happy to have excuses to unlink when everyone else was busy these days, he admitted to himself with a blush.

"What about Tom?" Jake asked, "your mind is wandering again, super-stud."

"Don't call me that!" Norm's cheeks only got redder.

"Hey, I call'em as I see'em...and boy did I see'em," Jake teased good-naturedly, "seriously, man, I'm happy for you and all, but your mind just keeps wandering into left field lately. What. About. Tom?" he asked slowly and precisely.

"Right, sorry," Norm shook his head and sighed, "Jake, have you noticed Tom being kinda...quiet lately? I mean, I figure you know him better than me, so you'd know if he just has a habit of getting all pensive like this when he's really busy."

Jake frowned. "You know, he has been kinda quiet lately," he agreed, "certainly he's been cracking a lot less jokes. And no, that isn't a normal reaction for him when he's busy. If anything he usually only gets more hyper. Maybe I need to lay a smackdown on him and drag whatever's on his mind out of him. Sometimes he just thinks to bloody much. Kinda like you," Jake added, rolling his eyes at Norm. "Now, since I obviously can't lay said smackdown on my twin at this distance and in this body, I'd like to get some rest so I can to do that tomorrow in my more smackdown-ready form."

"Right," Norm laughed, "you got it. I'd better get some sleep as well. See you in the morning."

"Yeah seeya then," Jake waved over his shoulder, then wheeled over to his bunk and began the laborious process of hauling himself into it. He didn't bother to change, The clothes he had on had been clean this morning, and it wasn't as if he'd really _done_ anything today.

As he closed his eyes, finally, the last thing that crossed his mind was how much...nicer Neytiri was lately. Maybe she was finally realizing that he wasn't going anywhere just cause she was short with him, and had given up on that idea. He hoped so. Spending most of the day with someone was a hell of a lot nicer if you got along. He wouldn't say anything to her about it yet though. After all, no sense tempting fate, and even a dumb grunt like him knew better than to tell a woman she'd been being pissy for no good reason.

* * *

The next day, Tom was up early and linking up just as the day began. No sense wasting time, after all. He grabbed a couple of fruit and munched on his way out to the tarmac, waving at Trudy Chacon, who was set to fly him and Cathy out to the site today. Jake had mentioned in passing that she and Norm were an item now, and Tom found himself studying her as she walked toward him, puzzled as to what she might see in Norm. Well, he shouldn't sell his fellow anthropologist and avatar driver short, Norm had plenty of good attributes, but most of them were in his personality, and that personality was definitely, um, not the type that usually attracted military types. But maybe he was selling _Chacon _short. After all, just because she was a military pilot didn't mean she didn't have a brain.

"You're in a hurry this morning, Jake-clone," Trudy waved at him, "someone spike your giant blueberries with coffee?"

He laughed lightly. "Naw," he shook his head, "don't think it would do much in this body even if they did, just had a lot on my mind and couldn't sleep any more. I technically "sleep" most of the day anyway." He frowned at her, "and I'm not the clone, Jake is."

"Sure, whatever you say," she grinned at him, "Just gimme ten minutes to put my baby through her morning warmup and we'll be good to go."

"We can't go anywhere until Cathy gets here anyway," he pointed out. Usually he was the later one to rise, and Cathy would be waiting for him at the Sampson they were to take out into the jungle.

"Oh I don't think you need to worry about that," Trudy shook her head, "why don't you go see if she's dozed off again." She gestured toward the cargo area of the Sampson and the tall blue form he could now see sitting curled up in it.

She waved to him as he came near, and he waved back, jogging the last few meters with a smile on his face. "And I thought _I_ was up early!" he said, "did you get any sleep at all last night?"

"Yeah," she shook her head, "but I prefer to wake up before dawn, the air smells a little cleaner then."

"If you say so," he gave her a shrug. "Personally I prefer not to wake up when it's still dark, it just feels wrong."

"It's never really dark on Pandora," she smiled, patting the space next to her, "you should try it sometime. Ready for another day of hard labour?"

"Of course," he sat, making sure his tail was on the side she wasn't. That was a piece of etiquette he'd learned in his first week among the Na'vi. Mind your tail. Which was a good idea, really. It was an appendage he wasn't used to having, and it sometimes seemed to have a mind of its own. "It won't be long now until we're basically finished," he pointed out, "the construction's gone really fast, considering."

"It has," she agreed, "although it isn't really that surprising. We've had help, after all."

"Amazingly. I'm surprised I managed to wheedle so many men out of Selfridge to help with construction when they could have been doing more "constructive" things."

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Cathy shook her head, "besides, he probably just wanted to shut you up. You were being pretty persistent."

"True," he smiled. "So, um, when the house is done and you can stay the night, I'm guessing you'll be..." He gestured helplessly, looking for the right word, "formalizing your relationship?"

"We'll see," she said, but the smile that passed across her face spoke volumes. "We haven't discussed it in so many words, but I wouldn't say no, and he knows that."

Tom nodded solemnly. "Just...be careful," he said, "and try not to forget that whatever we do in here," he touched the chest of his avatar body, "we're still just tucked away in link chambers back there," he pointed toward the science wing.

Cathy's smile faded. "I know," she said, "believe me, I know that all too well. I won't forget."

"Alright boys and girls, the schoolbus is about to leave," Trudy called from up front, "time to belt up and tuck yourselves in for the flight."

"Got it," Tom called forward, "all ready for takeoff back here!"

* * *

Neytiri, perched on the branch above Jake's _nivi_, resisted the urge to poke at him with her bow. In the month and a half or so since the night she had found him wandering in the forest, she had long since learned to tell his true sleep from his empty sleep. Empty sleep he could not be woken from, no matter what torments were inflicted upon him, because his soul was not in his body. It was in the tiny sky person body he hid somewhere far away. Neytiri sometimes wondered what that body looked like, but it was more an idle curiosity than a driving need to know, so she concentrated on more important things. Like improving his stamina so that when his archery skills proved him ready to take down prey with a clean kill, he would be strong and healthy enough to make it through _iknimaya_. She didn't know why she cared, really, but she had to admit the _faketuan_ baby was growing on her. He was certainly less arrogant than many of the males she knew, but somehow managed not to sacrifice his masculinity along with that arrogance. It was a...good trait, she thought, the sign of one who had a brain hiding behind his ignorance.

The pattern of his breathing changed, and she grinned, leaning down to poke him. "_If you want to eat before you run you'd better grab something quickly,_" she said as his eyes opened.

He blinked up at her with a confused expression, taking a minute to translate all that. "Eat, then we run, got it," he said, sitting up and stretching before performing the still-slightly-awkward motion of standing to haul himself up onto the branch. "It's gonna need to be eat, go to the house, then run though," he shook his head, "I need to talk to Tom this morning."

"About what should you talk to him?" Neytiri asked, curious.

"He's thinking too much again," Jake shrugged, "it happens now and then. I just need to go remind him to live more in the here and now and less in fifteen different possible futures."

"It is the sign of a leader to be concerned for what will be," Neytiri pointed out.

"Maybe," Jake slipped past her to take a leaping shortcut down two branches, "but that doesn't mean he doesn't need to be snapped out of it now and then. Planning is fine, overthinking things until you get depressed is something else again.

Neytiri took a shortcut of her own and quickly caught up with him. "What will you do to cure this...overthinking?" she asked.

Jake grinned. "Oh, I figure wrestling him into a few mud puddles ought to do it. Always worked when we were kids."

Neytiri blinked, and then laughed at the mental image of two grown men wrestling like little boys. "I will never understand males," she shook her head

"Oh, guys are easy," Jake grinned, her laughter putting him into a good mood almost automatically, "you just have to remember that every one of us has a _skxawng_ boy child living inside us, and he has to get out and play sometimes. It's just some of us have him closer to the surface than others."

Neytiri almost didn't know what to say to that. "Well," she said finally, as they reached the ground and headed in the direction of the avatar house, "at least you admit it."

* * *

Tom had, in the last month, learned to be more alert to his surroundings; so that although he was certainly nowhere near on par with the Na'vi, he could at least tell that someone was sneaking up on him when they were within about a five-meter space around him. Unfortunately he still hadn't completely mastered directionality. He thought maybe it had something to do with rotating his ears, but that was a motor skill that was still very strange to him.

He was, therefore, not entirely taken by surprise when Jake jumped down from a tree limb right behind him, but he still jumped about three feet in the air.

"What the hell?!" he spun around to see his twin's wide grin.

"Didn't know I was there, didja?" Jake laughed.

"Oh I knew you were somewhere nearby," Tom shook his head, "but I didn't expect you to practically jump on my head! What's with you this morning?"

"Norm said, and I agree, that you're thinking too much," Jake said, "so I promised him I'd do something about it."

"Do what?" Tom knew that look. He started to back away slowly, glancing around for an exit vector. He wasn't fast enough, though. Before he was able to get away, Jake pounced. Literally. He went flying backward and landed in a pile of soft moss.

"Gotcha!" Jake grinned. "Now, are you gonna agree not to overthink so much or am I gonna have to pound it into you?"

"I'm not overthinking damnit," Tom protested, pushing Jake off him with a frown.

"You so are," Jake said. He leaped away to prevent getting pinned in turn, and grinned as he found what he'd been looking for... There was a stream near the house, a convenient feature which had been deliberately taken into account when deciding the location, and the banks were completely mud from all the construction. He quickly ducked down behind a log and gathered a big glob of the mud, popping up to sling it at Tom.

"Ack! Frickin' heck!" Tom spluttered as he was hit dead center of his chest by a gigantic splatter of mud, "I don't have a clean shirt out here!" He got a gleam in his eye as he noticed a certain flower near where he was standing. A certain flower that just happened to have quite a bit of very sticky nectar. He sidled toward it, keeping his eyes on where Jake had ducked down again behind the log.

"So strip," Jake laughed, "nobody's gonna care if you don't have a shirt on, and it's not like it's cold out here. Or are you scared the girls are gonna laugh at your wimpy lack of muscles."

"I've just spent the last month hauling logs around, I'm not worried about a lack of anything, except maybe the lack of your sanity," Tom shook his head. "I'm not getting naked just cause you think it'd be funny for me to parade my ass around like you do all day." He moved in front of the flower and reached behind him with one hand, plucking it and very carefully keeping it upright as he stalked his prey.

"You never know, you might like it," Jake laughed, slinging another gob of mud at Tom. "It's not like we've got a scrawny ass in this body, after all."

Tom stopped dead and almost fell over. "What kind of a comment is that?!"

"Hey, I've got ears and I know how to use'em," Jake grinned, "and I do know a bit of Na'vi now." He allowed himself to be a bit more of a target, trying to goad Tom into doing whatever it was he'd planned. He knew his twin well enough to know that he was beginning to get into this game, and it was only a matter of time until he retaliated.

"Okay maybe I'll accept that in reference to your own ass, since it's hanging out all the time," Tom grinned, "but you'd better not have been staring at mine."

"Gah! Eww no way!" Jake made a face, "I don't go in for that shit, man! Seriously!"

Tom, while Jake was distracted by the horrible mental image, made a mad rush forward and pounced, letting his body do what it was designed to in a way he hadn't allowed himself before as he landed on top of Jake, pressing his twin down into the mud, the sticky-nectared flower crushed against Jake's chest.

Unfortunately, the flower had almost exploded on impact, so not only was Jake covered in nectar, Tom was as well, and both of them were thoroughly covered in mud. Additionally, Tom had managed to plant his knees right in one of the deepest patches of mud, and his cargo shorts were thoroughly covered in muck as well. Tom blinked, looked down at Jake and himself, and started to laugh.

"Damn you got me good," he said, pulling himself into an upright position and laughing, "and you proved your point. I'll try not to be quite so caught up in my own head, but next time? A little less mud?"

Jake snorted. "I'll fight as dirty as I have to," he shook his head, "so there better just not be a next time." He accepted the hand Tom extended down to him and hauled himself out of the mud.

Hidden in one of the trees overhead, Neytiri had a hand clasped over her mouth, trying very hard not to laugh. The reality of the mental image she had formed earlier in the day was, if anything, only funnier than she might have hoped. Males really were all just little boys when it came down to it. She finally managed to get ahold of herself and hopped down, making sure to stay well away from both filthy males.

"I will wait back at _kelutrel_, go get clean," she said, struggling to maintain her stern expression. The corners of her mouth kept trying to turn up. "_Get your brother proper clothing,_" she added, "_it's about time anyway_."

Jake looked Tom up and down, a slow, sly grin spreading across his face. "Looks like it's ass-out time for you, Tommy-boy."

* * *

**And now it's time for Vocab!**

**_nivi_ - hammock, an informal usage of _Eywa k'sey nivi'bri'sta_ "Eywa cradles everyone"**  
**_iknimaya_ - "Stairway to heaven" the rite of passage of young Na'vi warriors into adulthood.**  
**_faketuan_ - alien**  
**_skxawng_ - moron (you moron ^_~)**  
**_kelutrel_ - hometree**


	9. Chapter 8: Anthropology

**Well this is an...interesting chapter. I had in some ways planned on this, but it was going to be a small interaction in passing. By no means take this as an intended pairing. It might happen, it might not happen, I JUST DON'T KNOW OKAY? THE MUSES JUMPED ME AND KNOCKED ME OUT AND THIS HAPPENED WHILE I WAS SEMICONSCIOUS!**

***pant pant wheeze wheeze* okay that's better, had to get that out. Please enjoy! (and pardon my putting off the lemony goodness another chapter or two. Damn muses!)  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 8: Anthropology

Tom was feeling distinctly uncomfortable as he walked back to the build site. Things were tugging in ways they should not tug, riding in places they should not ride, and the fact that he could feel a breeze on his behind was...disconcerting. He steeled himself for the inevitable wolf-whistles when he got back to the clearing. At least he was clean again. The nectar had been a stroke of genius, but the next time he employed such a stroke of genius it was going to be as a grenade, not a splatter bomb. It had taken half an hour and an awful lot of scrubbing to get it out of his hair, especially the end of his queue, which had slid over his shoulder when he pinned Jake and gotten thoroughly coated in the stuff, and for the moment he'd left all but the hair braided around his queue loose to dry.

At least he'd had solace in the knowledge that Jake was no better off. If anything, the numerous small braids he'd taken to wearing were even more trouble to clean than Tom's more restrained hair. Tom chuckled softly to himself at the memory of Jake's swearing as he used up three times the normal amount of shampoo trying to get each one clean and un-sticky. Tom knew payback was a bitch, and he _knew_ there would be payback, but for now, he was happy enough with the results.

Well, except for the loincloth. That was just cruel and unusual punishment. He wondered if perhaps he should just stay away from the construction site for the rest of the day... Do a little research or maybe some writing in a nice secluded area where nobody would find him.

Yes, working on his paper, that was just the thing. All he had to do was dash in, grab a spare holoscreen and pad, and dash back out again, and he knew just the spot where he could sit and write undisturbed. There would be questions on the way home, of course, but at least he wouldn't have to spend the whole day listening to ribald comments. How anyone could stand wearing such a garment was beyond him, although he did have to admit that at least it kept the essentials contained in such a way that there was no undue...movement as he walked.

* * *

There had indeed been a few loud shouts of surprise when Tom streaked (oops, bad choice of verb there he mentally chided himself) into the clearing heading for the house. He'd managed the whole seek and retrieve mission inside in under three minutes, and when Norm called after him to ask what he was doing he'd just yelled over his shoulder that he was writing and not to follow on pain of death.

Once he was safely ensconced in his hiding place - a wide branch, halfway up a giant tree about five minutes' walk from the build site - he breathed a sigh of relief. He leaned his head back against the massive trunk and closed his eyes, listening to the (mostly) quiet world around him. He didn't hear any sounds of anyone following him, so he opened his eyes again and booted up the pad, bringing up his rough notes. He really needed to get them into some semblance of order. Right now there were notes on ceremonial dress shoved in between agricultural observations and flint knapping techniques, and it was just a horrific mess.

The first thing to do, of course, was decide on a few topic headings and start moving things into their appropriate categories. That was easy enough, and soon Tom was so engrossed in his work that he didn't even notice when someone came and crouched next to him on the branch.

"What do you?" a curious female voice asked. Then he heard a musical combination of giggles and ... windchimes? ... as he jumped and had to quickly catch himself so he didn't fall off the branch.

"_You startled me,_" he said, turning to see who was there. It was a Na'vi female (no surprise, really. He hadn't expected a human, after all) and she looked familiar somehow. Then he remembered. "_You often come to visit with Cathy, right?_" he said, "_I'm sorry I don't think we have been introduced._"

"_Ninat, sister of Antsu, daughter of Kxawn'e,_" she placed a hand against her chest and he saw that what he'd thought sounded like windchimes were, in fact, dozens of intricate necklaces with long, hollow beads or spines of some kind dangling from them. "_and you are Tomsuuly, the one who is brother to Jhakesuuly._"

"_Please, call me Tom_," he shook his head, "Tom Sully," he made sure to emphasize the space between the words and the short "u" sound, "_is my full name but nobody calls me that unless I'm in some kind of trouble._"

"_Ah,_" she nodded, "_May Eywa smile upon our meeting, Tom,_" she said more formally, then she leaned forward, looking at the holoscreen he was holding again. "_What is it you do here?_" she asked again.

"_I am organizing my thoughts,_" he said, "_Putting all my observations of like things together._"

"_And you must use this...light picture to do your thinking for you?_" she gave him a confused look.

"_Oh no, my brain does the thinking,_" he chuckled, "_but after I have thought and seen, I _write down_ what I have seen to aid me in remembering. We sky people mostly use paper or these light pictures to aid our memories, very few of us are trained as your father is to remember the stories of our peoples._"

"_What is it that you...study?_" she asked, "_I know toktor Grace studies plants, and that Ka'tsi tsmuke studies language..._"

"_Me? Hmm... I am an _anthropologist_, I study people. Well, I should say I study the ways people act within clans. The things that are different and the things that are the same._" He gestured a little helplessly, "_It is hard to explain._"

"_No,_" she shook her head, "_I believe I understand. This is something we singers must study as well. Not only the traditions of our own clan but also the traditions of the clans we trade with. We are all Na'vi, but there are small differences in habits between different clans._"

Tom smiled. "_Exactly!_" he nodded, "_It is so among the sky people as well, only, there are many, many clans, and there have been many, many clans before, which have come and gone, and so we learn about them to help learn more about ourselves._"

"_So many clans? How do you keep all of them straight in your head?_" Ninat asked. "_You said that you do not train your minds as we singers do._"

"_We choose one or two clans and specialize,_" he explained, "_learn everything that we can about that clan or clans, and then we _write papers_ to explain those clans to others without them having to spend all the time to study that we have spent. That is what I'm doing right now,_" he explained, "writing a paper."

She settled herself down on the branch next to him. "_Tell it to me_?" she asked.

"_It's very disorganized,_" he warned, "_not logical and organized yet._"

"_I do not mind,_" she smiled, "_I will tell you a secret. I am something of a...what was your word? Ansrrpolotxìs? You study the Omatikaya, I study tawtute._"

"_An ambitious undertaking,_" he smiled, "_I am glad to share what I have learned with a colleague, then._" He rearranged himself so that she could see the screen better, and brought up some of the pictures he'd used as place markers. A small _atokirina_ floated in front of it and he waved it out of the way casually. "_I have learned many things since I have been here, although I am sure I've only just begun to learn..._"

Ninat smiled and leaned in, listening to him but also taking note of the holy seed, which didn't move far. Tom was clearly too engrossed in his thoughts to notice and she didn't point it out, content to just observe, at least for now.

* * *

It was hours later when Ninat placed a hand on Tom's shoulder. "_Your papxrr will be very good,_" she said, "_I can see that you have eyes which See deeply, but now it is time to eat. Do not you and Ka'tsi tsmuke usually leave at this time?_"

Tom looked up and blinked, realizing that twilight was indeed descending. "_I'm sorry_," he said, "_I got distracted. You are good at listening and clearly I am too good at talking and not good enough at paying attention to the world around me._"

That made Ninat laugh. "_I am used to this,_" she shook her head, "_it is a trait common to almost all singers. We become deep into our song and forget the world around us. Sometimes I wonder if Sempul would even eat if I did not remind him when he is working on a new song._"

"_Next time, if you like, I will answer your questions about sky people,_" he offered, "_A fair trade, I think, for your kindness in letting me talk at you all day today._"

"_You do not need to feel obligation, I enjoyed listening to you,_" she shook her head, "_Even if your speaking is strange on occasion. But I would enjoy it if you wish to speak to me again,_" she said, then grinned, "_and I have many, many questions, you may come to regret so generous an offer._"

He waved her off, smiling as well, "_I'm used to questions,_" he said, "_I deal with my own every day._ _I find myself curious to know what your questions will be._"

"_If you do not fear palulukan, I will not tell you he is behind you,_" she shrugged with a smile before silently making her way down to the ground.

Tom was very confused by the statement at first. He looked around quickly, but he didn't see or hear a thanator. Then it clicked. It was like saying "don't say I didn't warn you" in English. He chuckled and began to make his way down the tree. He'd almost forgotten his dress, though...or lack of dress, but as he moved he suddenly realized just how...exposed he was, and he flushed with embarrassment and almost missed a landing onto one of the lower branches. He caught himself and suddenly realized what Cathy had been talking about all those weeks ago when she took her shoes off. If he hadn't been barefoot he probably wouldn't have been able to recover his balance. He also didn't have to worry about tearing shirt or shorts as he moved among the smaller branches. Maybe there was something to be said for the native costume after all, but that didn't mean he was going to make wearing nothing but a loincloth a habit without a much better reason. After all, it was em-bare-ass-ing. That thought made him grin. At least he could still make good jokes in adversity.

"_What makes you have that look on your face?_" Ninat asked curiously as they headed back toward the build site. "_You look most pleased with yourself._"

"_Just a...a play on words,_" he said. "_In my clan when we wear so little we become _"embarrassed" _but if you say that one word as three words it can mean to make your behind naked._" he explained, "_Which is something that is almost the case._" He then blushed at discussing such a thing with someone he barely knew. "_I am sorry, it is rude of me to speak of such things,_" he apologized.

"_In our clan it is not rude. The body is simply the body, there is no shame in having it visible, as long as the...essentials are covered,_" she shrugged. "_It is not necessary to wear more, and more only gets in the way. Do you not find it so?_"

"_Perhaps,_" he admitted, "_but it is still uncomfortable for me to wear so little._"

"_You are not unattractive, why cover your body? I do not._"

He fought the urge to look at her. "_As you say,_" he nodded, keeping his eyes on the path in front of him.

She giggled and patted his shoulder. "_You will learn,_" she smiled.

As they entered the clearing, Cathy waved to them, grinning. "We were about to send a rescue crew after you," she said, "but it looks like you were just distracted."

"I was discussing my observations with a colleague," Tom said, "nothing more, nothing less. We merely lost track of time."

"Whatever you say," Norm raised an eyebrow, "but we've got to get going now, or at least you two have to get going, my ride will be here after."

"Your ride? That what the kids are calling it these days?" Tom grinned, only too glad to shift the focus of teasing onto a new target.

"If it's not one of you it's the other one," Norm sighed, "can't you give it a break?"

"Nope," Tom grinned, "but as you said, our ride is here, so you get a reprieve for a few minutes at least." He turned back to Ninat. "_I am glad of our meeting today,_" he smiled, "_I look forward to speaking with you again._"

"_I will be back with my questions for you tomorrow. Prepare yourself,_" Ninat smiled before ducking back into the forest as if she'd never even been there.

* * *

When they got back to the compound, Cathy grabbed Tom and pulled him into the bunkhouse. "Here," she said, throwing him a shirt and a pair of track pants. "I think you've suffered enough."

"Thanks," he grinned as he caught them. "Although I was _almost_ getting used to it."

"Well if you'd prefer to stay ass-out naked I'm sure most of the girls won't complain," Cathy grinned, "but I'm not sure you could handle all the attention."

"Uh...no actually, I think I'm fine with covering up," Tom said, pulling the track pants on over his loincloth and tugging the shirt over his head. It wasn't until then that he noticed the hair he'd left loose was now braided. "Um..." he pulled one braid around to look at it, "when did this happen?"

"Oh my god! You really were distracted, weren't you?" Cathy almost fell over she was laughing so hard. "Don't worry, it doesn't look girlie or anything. Here, I'll get you a mirror."

"I guess it would be a bad idea to take them out," he said, "impolite, right?"

"You got it," Cathy handed him the mirror.

Tom examined his hair carefully in the mirror. "I guess it's not that bad," he said finally, "it'll take a little getting used to though."

"You'll survive," she laughed. "Seriously though, Tom, I treat Ninat as a little sister, so you'd better not do anything stupid."

"Seriously, all we were doing was talking anthropology," he said calmly, "she wanted to know what I was doing so I explained my paper to her, and then she wanted me to "tell it to her" so that's what I did. She says she has questions about humans, so I said I'd answer them for her. Only fair, after all." He handed her back the mirror. "She's a really smart girl."

"For someone from a hunter-gatherer society?" Cathy raised an eyebrow.

"For anyone," Tom shook his head, "besides, the Na'vi can't be classified the same way as human cultures."

"Finally you're beginning to really See, then," Cathy smiled at him, "and all it took was being stripped down to a loincloth and spending the day with the next High Singer."

"She's the next High Singer?" Tom blinked.

"She is," Cathy nodded. "Honestly, are you that surprised? You said yourself she's highly intelligent."

"I...suppose not," Tom nodded.

* * *

Back at _Kelutral_, Ninat was relaxing with her family after dinner.

"_You were gone most of the day,_" Kxawn'e observed, "_did you learn anything interesting?_"

"_I did indeed,_" Ninat nodded. "_I have learned much. Not the least of which is that Jhakesuuly's brother Tom has all the traits of a great singer. I would like your permission, Sempul, to bring him here to study with us for a time. He is beginning to See, and his vision must be properly guided, so that he learns what is right._" She smiled. "_If it has any influence on your decision, I saw the atokirina hover about and settle on him as we spoke today._"

Kxawn'e nodded thoughtfully. "_Bring him to me tomorrow,_" he said, "_I will speak with him and tell you of my decision._"

Ninat bit her lip. "_Must it be tomorrow, Sempul? He has agreed to answer many questions I have about tawtute, and if you are busy speaking with him he will be too busy for my questions._"

Antsu laughed at that. "_You had best agree, Sempul, you know how Ninat gets when someone comes between her and learning._"

Kxawn'e laughed as well. "_I do know,_" he nodded, "_Alright, Ninat, you may have your day to ask questions tomorrow, and on the day after you will bring him here to me. I will make my decision then._"

"_Thank you, Sempul,_" Ninat smiled brightly.

* * *

_**And now for the vocab!**_

_**toktor**_** - loanword from English, "doctor"**  
_**tsmuke**_** - sister**  
_**tawtute**_** - "Sky person", human**  
_**atokirina**_** - seed of the sacred tree, referred to as very pure spirits**  
_**Sempul**_** - Father**  
_**palulukan**_** - thanator - nasty-ass feline apex predator of the Pandoran jungle.**  
_** Kelutral**_** - hometree**


	10. Chapter 9: Understanding

**And another chapter for you all! Poor Tom, he's only going to get more confused before he fully figures things out, but then again, it's good for people who think they already know things to have their worlds shaken up now and then. Ninat's sure to do that. She's a smart girl, she knows there are things he's going to need to experience to truly learn, and she's greatly enjoying watching him come to realize the reality of his situation.  
**

**This next week will be slow most likely, although I might get another chapter out tomorrow. It's possible depending on how much time I get, but I have practicum days two days in a row next week, so that should kill things until at least Wed.  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 9: Understanding

The next morning, when he was getting dressed before heading out, Tom debated on what to do about the loincloth. He certainly wasn't going to wear nothing but, that was out of the question, but maybe under his shorts...just in case... In case of what he didn't know, but it seemed like the right thing to do, so he decided to just go with it.

Maybe, he thought to himself, it might be good to just relax a bit and let himself go. It seemed like he was going to learn more that way. Who needs distance anyway. He had enough built-in distance as it was, coming from an outside culture. Besides, Grace hadn't kept her distance, how could he be expected to? So it wouldn't hurt if he just let himself...fit in a little. A part of him knew he was giving in to temptation, but a bigger part of him (that was sounding quite a lot like Jake at the moment) said fuck that, just let it go.

Maybe he _was_ a mermaid after all.

Feeling altogether better about any number of things (and actually getting used to the sensation of wearing what amounted to a thong) Tom strode out to the hoverpad a new man. Or anyway a new _uniltìranyu_. He figured as long as he remembered what he'd reminded Cathy about the day before, that this body, although he was walking in it right now, wasn't his true one, he should be safe.

He couldn't wait for his day to start! Even the prospect of being grilled on human customs and foibles was exciting. What kind of questions would someone who had such a different upbringing ask? He found himself eager to find out.

* * *

"We running again?" Jake asked as he yawned and stretched out the kinks his avatar body inevitably acquired from lying too still in his hammock each night. He wasn't there to make it turn over, and as a result, he'd often woken up with one arm or leg - or his tail - numb until he figured out a position that wouldn't pinch them while the body was empty.

"Not running today," Neytiri shook her head, "today we work again on shooting. Your arms must be strong just as your legs."

"Am I ever gonna get to shoot anything but leaves?" he groaned good-naturedly, "it's getting kinda old."

"Today you will not shoot leaves," Neytiri shook her head, "today you will shoot nothing. Draw only, then put down the bow then draw again. We work on your breathing with the bow."

Jake was thoroughly confused, but he just shrugged. He'd find out soon enough what she meant, no sense in worrying about it. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as they made their way down to the ground. There was something different in her demeanor today. He wondered if it had anything to do with yesterday. He'd been able to stay right behind her for their whole run, and when she'd finally given him a reprieve, she had looked almost impressed. Well, she shouldn't be so surprised. She might be a strict teacher, but she was still nothing on his old Drill Sargent back in basic training. Still, she was a heck of a lot better looking than old Sargent Pratz had been. He chuckled. That certainly didn't take much! She deserved a better description than "better than Pratz" though, she really was pretty, especially when she forgot herself and smiled...and she was damn sexy when she got mad, too, he had to admit. He shook his head. He might think that way now and then, it was inevitable being around an attractive female all the time, but he wasn't going to do anything about it. Tom would kill him if he did something stupid like that, but only if Tsu'tey and more likely Neytiri herself didn't eviscerate him first. The girl was spoken for already, and besides, from everything he'd seen, the Na'vi didn't do casual relationships even if she hadn't been, and he was in no position to be getting into something longterm. The last thing he wanted to do was get himself kicked out for saying or doing things he shouldn't.

And she was giving him a weird look again. He must be staring or something, he knew that pissed her off, when he stared at her. Not that it wouldn't piss him off if it was the other way around and she was staring at him. He closed his eyes for a moment and then looked around instead, seeing if any of the kids were around. He liked the kids, even if they _did_ have a tendency to make rude comments about his pinkies. He'd always liked kids. And if anyone suggested that was because he acted more than half like a kid himself most of the time he'd punch their nose in. He liked kids because they were innocent. They saw the world through eyes that saw every possibility and every impossibility and didn't draw much of a line between the two. He'd like to still pretend anything was possible. He couldn't, really, but every now and then he wished he could.

Oops, and there went his footing. Too much thinking about stupid things. Pretty soon he was going to need to wrestle _himself_ into the mud! He laughed to himself and hopped down to the ground. Time to concentrate on more important things, like eating and not-shooting his bow.

* * *

Ninat rolled over in her _nivi_ with a smile on her face. She watched as Jhakesuuly hurried after Neytiri and she laughed a little. It was amazing how similar the two brothers looked, and how dissimilar their talents seemed to be. Tom was obviously a thinker, one who wanted to learn, while Jhakesuuly...er...probably she should think of him as "Jhake"...he might be one who wanted to learn also, but his talents were definitely much more in the physical realm.

She laughed to herself as she rolled back over and reached up for her necklaces hanging on her _chey_, slipping them over her head as she sat up and arranging them carefully. Today was going to be a very interesting day, she could hardly wait to get it started! She had not heard the distant sound of the _kunsìp_ which usually brought Ka'tsi and he, or the others, _toktor_ Grace and Normspellman. Hmm...maybe that should just be Normspell? Or was it just Norm? The _tawtute_ all seemed to have short one- or two-syllable names which were for common use amongst themselves. Yet another question to ask Tom once he arrived.

She had to be careful and watch him as she asked her questions though, she reminded herself. The _tawtute_ had such strange customs about some things, like their ridiculous clothing. So impractical. He had said wearing less made them very uncomfortable, though, so it made her wonder if perhaps there was more than just uneasiness about their bodies behind it. Perhaps there was something else as well. Surely if they lived in a place anything like the Na'vi they would most likely have given up the unnecessary extra layers, although she supposed maybe it was that in their other forms, their small, natural forms, their skin was more easily damaged. Well, soon enough she would know more. Best not to make assumptions when she had access to real answers. Her ears perked forward as she heard the distant sound of rotors. That might be his ride!

She made her way quickly to the building site, brimming with anticipation and excitement. And it _had_ been his transport! She stayed out of sight behind the trees as she watched them get off and unload the _kunsìp_, and she made a disappointed face. Of course he was wearing all the silly clothes again. At least he'd left his hair, though. She giggled softly, maybe he still hadn't noticed. He certainly hadn't made any comment as she braided it for him while he talked yesterday. Not that it mattered whether he looked like one of the People or _uniltìranyu_ but she just...found him more approachable when he wasn't all wrapped up in his extra clothing. Ah well, it wasn't as though she couldn't encourage him to return to what he'd worn yesterday, she just had to explain to him that he would fit in better tomorrow when he met with _Sempul_. From what she had seen of him so far, even in their relatively short contact of yesterday, she knew he would not turn down an opportunity to learn more about the Omatikaya, and that he would easily recognize the meeting for being just such an opportunity.

Ninat screwed her face up in displeasure at the stink of the _kunsìp_ as it took off, and waited until the sound was completely gone before moving into the clearing.

"_I See you Ninat,_" Ka'tsi greeted her, and Ninat smiled at her brother's intended mate.

"_I See you, Ka'tsi tsmuke. If you don't mind I'm going to steal Tom for the day. He made a promise and I intend to see he keeps it._"

"_Help yourself,_" Ka'tsi's expression almost made Ninat laugh. "_Just be sure to return him in one piece._"

"_What reason would I have to cut him to pieces? Then he would not be able to answer my questions,_" Ninat pretended to look confused, then she grinned. She knew that expression, Ka'tsi had used it before around her, after all. She resisted the urge to grab Tom by the arm and drag him away. She might not be the hunter that Neytiri was, but even she knew better than to frighten off her prey like that.

"_I always keep my promises,_" Tom shook his head, smiling, "_Where did you want to ask your questions?_"

"_Where we sat yesterday will do well enough,_" Ninat said, "_Come, I will provide lunch so you don't need to worry about getting food to bring with you or anything like that._"

"_Looks like I don't have any excuses,_" Tom laughed, walking toward her, "_I'll see the rest of you later,_" he smiled and waved over his shoulder before the two of them disappeared into the forest again.

"_Thank you,_" Ninat turned to him, "_I know you suggested this, but there really was no reason for you to feel you have to answer my questions._"

"_I don't mind,_" he shook his head, "_I'm intrigued to know your questions and answer them._"

She watched him moving through the forest and sighed.

"_What is it?_" he asked, stopping to look over at her again.

"_Those things on your feet make you slow,_" she said, "_and I thought I told you yesterday that all the extra clothing is silly and unnecessary._"

"_It may be unnecessary to you, but it is necessary for my sanity. Everyone stared and made comments yesterday until I covered up,_" he frowned.

"_I still do not understand,_" Ninat said, "_Why is it necessary to cover yourself? Are your sky person bodies so easy to injure? Or perhaps is it not so warm where you live? I have heard there are clans who do this...covering up at certain times of year because their weather is not as warm._"

"_Ah, so the questions have started already,_" Tom grinned, "_and with such a complicated one to answer... Truthfully both of your suggestions have something to do with it, but it is also...hmm...I suppose you could say tradition and clan taboos which cause us to keep wearing clothes even in places where, as you pointed out, all of them may not be necessary. The only time it might be appropriate for a male of my clan to wear so little is while swimming, although even then it is...discouraged. Usually for swimming we wear something more like these shorts. Women may wear as little on the bottom as you for swimming but they must always wear a covering, like a tiny shirt or cups over their...um, chest,_"

She watched with interest as the bioluminescent dots on his face lit up bright enough to be clearly visible even in the morning light under the trees. That was interesting. Why a grown male should be so disconcerted by a part of the female anatomy mostly dedicated toward raising infants had always mystified her. It was less pronounced among the People, but certainly it happened there too. She had been told it had to do with mating but even her mother would not tell her why "until it mattered" so she was left to make up theories.

"_Anyway,_" he continued, "_as far as being more easy to injure, it isn't so much that as being more in danger from too much sunlight. Where we come from there isn't a big body in the sky surrounded by smaller bodies. Instead we are on the big body in the sky, and only one smaller body surrounds us. This means that we are exposed to much more direct sunlight. If you have noticed with the workers who are building the house, our skins are different from yours, shades of pink to brown rather than blue. This makes us more susceptible to being burned by the light of the sun, and that can cause us a great deal of damage, so our clothes help protect us. The lighter our skin, the more danger we face, and that has also to do with your other point. In some places, in some clans, humans also wear as little as the Na'vi, but where my clan lives is much cooler, and that has much to do with what we wear also. These clothes,_" he gestured at himself, "_are actually very few compared to what we must wear during the winter. In the winter we might wear two or three layers on top, and we might even wear two or three layers on the bottom. Almost no skin is left exposed._" He smiled at her, "_When we get to our tree I can show you pictures._"

"_Then it is good we are almost there,_" she said, "_but really, you should get rid of those things on your feet._"

"_Fine, fine, I'll take off the shoes,_" he sat on a nearby treetrunk and slipped his shoes and socks off, tying the laces together and looping them around his neck.

She grinned. "_It is the first test you pass,_" she said, "_soon enough you will be comfortable in this skin as you are in your other._"

"_And that is something you think ought to happen?_" he asked.

"_Your brother quickly becomes one of us,_" Ninat said, "_I believe it would be...wrong if you were not able to have the same opportunity. I do not mean to overstep my bounds. Of course such decisions ultimately belong to the Tsahik and Olo'eytkan, but I see nothing wrong with giving you the opportunity to learn._"

Tom blinked at her and she could see that he looked confused. "_But...why would you even care?_" he asked, "_I mean, until yesterday we had not even spoken._"

"_Because it is right,_" Ninat said. "_And because the songs tell of the dangers of separating those who are two souls one face. The songs say that they are like mates in some ways, that they have a connection even without tsahaylu._"

"_The songs are not wrong,_" Tom admitted, "_We also have this legend and I can confirm that at least for Jake and I it is true. When one of us is hurt or very upset or very happy, the other feels the echo._"

Ninat nodded. "_I thought as much,_" she said. She reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him back to his feet. "_Come, you are dawdling._"

"_Alright, I will stop dawdling,_" Tom laughed, and she was surprised to hear so much freedom in his voice. It was as though he had not truly laughed in a long time, and it made her wonder. There would be time to examine his heart for injuries later though, she assured herself. Right now she wanted questions answered!

* * *

Once they reached the tree Tom had been sitting in the day before, Ninat quickly made her way up to the branch. Tom started up after her, but he got caught halfway up when a branch somehow ended up snaked up the back of his shirt. "Argh! Damnit I thought I missed that branch!" he objected, "What is this?! Even the trees are trying to get me naked!"

Ninat peered down at him and giggled. "_You see? I told you your extra clothing is useless,_" she said.

"_A little help?_" he said, trying to unhook his shirt.

"_Of course I will help you,_" she jumped nimbly down and finished what the branch had started, lifting the shirt up.

"_Hey! What're you...doing!_" he protested, flushing.

"_Freeing you from your confinement,_" she said, lifting his shoes from around his neck and hooking them over a nearby branch, "_now lift your hands._"

He sighed and lifted his arms, allowing her to strip his top off. He tried not to flush any more and just accept whatever happened to him. He held his hand out for the shirt. "_I'll take that,_" he said, "_I suppose you're going to tell me I should lose the shorts too._"

She cocked her head and looked at him. "_You will be more comfortable and less likely to get caught in the trees again._"

"_Fine,_" he sighed, moving over to the trunk, "_you go ahead to our spot, I'll meet you up there in a minute._"

She had evidently decided to take pity on him, because she quickly made her way back up. He tried to ignore the fact that there was absolutely nothing stopping her from watching him, and just pretended he was changing into swim trunks at the pool in their apartment building back when he and Jake were little.

Once he was down to the loincloth again, he folded his shorts, bundled them into his t-shirt and slung it around his neck, along with his shoes. He would simply leave them here but he didn't trust that something wouldn't come along and eat, steal or otherwise destroy them. He did NOT want to end up flying home with his butt hanging out again.

He was just settling down on the branch when his vision was obscured by another _atokirina_. He blinked and raised his hand to wave it away. He knew better than to roughly bat at it, but it was in his face and he couldn't see.

"_Shh,_" Ninat caught his hand, "_Let it be, atokirina know better than we do._"

He stilled, his eyes crossing as the small floating seed alighted on his nose. "_Why do they keep getting in my face?_" he asked her.

"_I am not the one to know, that is for Tsahik to tell you,_" Ninat said, "_but it is a sign from Eywa. It is best to listen when she sends signs to us._"

"_I appreciate that,_" Tom nodded, "_if it weren't for these little things, Neytiri probably would've killed my brother before he even had a chance._"

"_It is possible,_" Ninat admitted, "_but there is no way to know for sure, since Eywa's message was heard. Now you are avoiding my questions,_" she added as the _atokirina_ finally decided to move on from his nose.

"_Right, right, questions,_" he smiled, settling in comfortably against the trunk and digging in his bundle of clothing for the holoscreen he'd tucked away, "_Why don't I start by showing you some pictures of different types of human clothing._"

"_Later,_" she shook her head, "_I want to know more about your clan. You are a part of the _Jarhead_ clan, correct?_"

"_Me? No,_" Tom shook his head, looking a little confused, then he realized what she was talking about.

"_But your brother, Jhakesuuly, said..._" she began.

"_He is, I am not,_" Tom explained, "_and really, you should just call him "Jake", I'll explain about names next. Jake is indeed a part of that clan, but it is...well, it is more a warrior society than a clan. Both of us belong to the _American_ clan, but when he reached the appropriate age among our people he decided to become a warrior, while I did not. I suppose you could say I am a member of the _Stanford_ clan, as that was where I did my highest-level training._" He shrugged, _"With so many people, family units are of much more relevance to us than what you might call our clan, and we have many groups that we belong to. It...might make more sense if I use the word "society" when describing sky people, rather than "clan". It is closer to the meaning we attach in any case._"

"_As you wish,_" Ninat nodded, settling more comfortably in where she could see the screen. "_You said something about explaining names?_"

"_Yes,_" he smiled, "_I think names are a very good place to start. My name, for instance, is made up, actually, of three names, but I only use part of one of those names most of the time..._"

"_Tawtute are so strange,_" Ninat shook her head, smiling.

* * *

They spent most of the morning deep in discussion, and Tom found himself greatly enjoying himself. It was almost like tutoring an extremely bright student who wanted to know everything all at once without having to go through the bother of beginning-level classes. He found that Ninat instantly grasped most of the anthropological constructs and conventions he explained to her, and once they had established that basis, examining things was simple. She was also, he realized, very good at listening and accepting the information as given, even if the cultural point he was explaining quite obviously struck her as ridiculous. Body shame, for example, continued to baffle her, but she did not mock it, she merely shrugged and proclaimed that it was unfortunate that their clan did not see its own beauty. Which was a remarkably deep statement really, when he thought about it.

Around midday she suddenly put a hand over his where he had been looking up another explanatory picture and shook her head. "_We will continue later,_" she said, "_now it is time to eat. Come, I will show you where to gather fruit nearby and we will speak of other things._"

"_Are you sure?_" he asked, "_I could finish this explanation first if you want._"

"_I am sure,_" she laughed, "_if you finish the explanation it will lead to at least two more questions, and we will still be sitting here as the plants come to light and not have eaten a thing. I know this of me, and after yesterday I definitely know this of you, now come, eat, to fuel more questions when we are back here._"

That made him laugh as well. "_You are probably right,_" he admitted, tucking his things back together and slinging them around his neck again.

"_I am absolutely right,_" she said, standing and making her way quickly down to the ground. She waited for him to make his way down as well, then headed off in a different direction than they had arrived from, angling back somewhat in the direction of Hometree.

"_So, you said we should speak of other things,_" Tom said as he followed her, "_What is it you want to speak about?_"

"_You are a good friend to Ka'tsi tsmuke,_" she said, _"and I know that Antsu tsmukan will not wait too much longer to make things complete between them. He is...well, he is not the most patient of males when his temptation is so nearby,_" she said, giggling, "_That is one of many reasons that I am the one who will take Sempul's place; Antsu could never sit still long enough in lessons, although his memory for the songs is wonderful, of course._"

Tom nodded, frowning slightly. He was still worried about what would happen when Cathy woke up after finally, well, tying the knot, he supposed, was a term that would work as well as any other.

"_I wondered if perhaps you would join our family for the feast of congratulations which is typically held,_" Ninat said. She turned to look at him, and obviously caught on to his expression, because she looked concerned. "_Does it upset you? That your friend is to be mated to my brother? Did you perhaps wish she could be yours? I know that sometimes happens between friends who learn together._"

He shook his head, forcing a smile for her. "_I might have thought that way once,_" he admitted, "_but it was soon clear to me that her feelings were not as mine, and that I was only making a fool of myself to pursue her. I wish her and your brother all happiness, but I worry how those in charge of the sky people here may react if they find out she has mated with one of the Omatikaya. It is...well, there is no stated rule against it, but becoming too close with the Na'vi is strongly discouraged. Still,_" he added when he could see her looking a little worried as well, "_I will not betray her, and neither will any of us among the scientists, and I know better than to think that she would be anything but miserable without your brother. I saw the way he makes her eyes light up, and that is enough for me._"

"_You are a good man, Tom_," Ninat patted his arm, "_I think the atokirina know this too and that is why they come to you._ _That is also why I have asked my father to consider training you. You would like that, would you not? To learn among us as your brother does?_"

"_I would...that would be an amazing opportunity,_" Tom said, his eyes going wide. "_You are very generous to offer me such a gift._"

"_It is because you know it for a gift that you are worthy of it,_" Ninat said and drew a finger along his forehead in a gesture that should have just confused him but for some reason made him hyper-aware of his skin instead. The Na'vi might be very like humans in many ways, but Tom was coming to realize that there were some very fundamental differences as well. And not just culturally. There were physiological differences beyond just the fact that they were taller and had tails, and he somehow hadn't even considered that before.

"_What...what did you do?_" he asked as he lifted his fingers to his forehead. "_That felt...different._"

"_I did nothing unusual,_" she shrugged, "_come, you are getting distracted._"

He laughed silently to himself and followed her. He could experiment with recreating that sensation later if he was still curious, after all.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the building site, everyone was breaking for lunch as well.

Grace, looking around at the building, grinned. "Well," she said, "It looks like we won't need the drones starting tomorrow. Now all we have to do is a little interior decorating." She stretched and leaned back, looking up to the treetops above them. It felt good to be back, and it was going to feel even better when they didn't have to worry about what they said around the workers. She glanced over at Norm and rolled her eyes. The boy was clearly distracted again. He had somehow managed to get fruit all over his hands while he was eating, probably because he had a habit of picking berries that were just this side of overripe. Still, it felt nice to be able to see this world again through fresh eyes, even if they were all babies who she had to watch to make sure they weren't tripping over their tails half the time. She cherished these moments of peace when she could forget for even a few minutes all the things that were going wrong with the RDA and the imbecile who ran things.

Over the years that she had been here, Grace had seen a reasonably good situation go downhill further and further, and although she had hope for Jake's mission, and Tom had managed good results as well, she still worried. She tried not to let it interfere with her work too much, though. After all, her real job was studying plants, and plants, at least, never let her down. Not the way people always ended up doing in the end.

Speaking of Tom, she really ought to speak to that boy about spending so much time alone with a girl. He, of course, probably thought it was totally innocent, and it probably was, but still, the impressions one gave off were important, and even if he meant nothing by it, and even if _she_ meant nothing by it, scuttlebutt on the base was horrific, and the last thing they needed were rumours getting back to Parker the Party-crasher that yet another of the scientists was getting "too fraternal" with the Na'vi. Cathy was bad enough, but at least she knew how to be discrete around those who shouldn't know what was going on. Then again, Grace figured that was a case of "once bitten twice shy".

She rolled her shoulder circumspectly, feeling the tight tug of the scars that peppered it. Being shot had hurt like a sonofabitch, and she could only imagine the pain Cathy had been through with her arm. Anyone who had been through something like that knew only too well what would happen if they screwed up again.

"You know what we need?" Cathy said, "We need to have a housewarming party."

"Absolutely!" Norm nodded, "it would be a great opportunity to improve relations between us and the Na'vi, and who doesn't like a party?"

Grace watched them and had to laugh. Children would always be children. Still, it _was_ a good idea.

"Once everything's done on the inside," she said, "say we set it for a week or so from now. That should give us lots of time to prepare, and a party with good prep is always better," she grinned.

"Woohoo!" Norm pumped a fist, "Party time!"

* * *

**And now for everybody's favourite part of the day: **

**Vocab:**

**_uniltìranyu _- Dreamwalker, an Avatar**

**_nivi _- The sleeping hammocks the Na'vi use**

**_chey _- A shortened version of "_p'ah s'ivil chey_", a belongings rack. Basically a place for a Na'vi to hang things like jewelry, bows, or any other personal things.**

**_kunsìp _- Gunship. Loanword from English**

**_toktor _- Doctor, another loanword from English**

**_tawtute _- Sky person, human**

**_Sempul _- Father**

**_tsmuke _- Sister**

**_Tsahik _- Matriarch, interpreter of the will of Eywa **

**_Olo'eytkan_ - Clan leader**

**_tsahaylu _- "the bond", a special bonding of neural networks between Na'vi and various other Pandoran fauna or between mates**

**_atokirina _- Seeds of the holy tree, humans refer to them as "woodsprites", revered by the Na'vi as pure spirits**

**_tsmukan _- Brother  
**


	11. Chapter 10: Acolyte

**Once again this took longer than I had hoped. I apologize. I'm nearing the end of my program in school and that doesn't help any, but I'm determined not to let things sit for _too_ long between chapters.**

**I beg your patience, all of you, and please continue to enjoy the fic. I know I am XD  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 10: Acolyte

That night, when he hauled himself out of his link bed, Tom found Dr. Grace waiting for him.

"I need to talk to you, Sully," she said, "come on, there's a quiet spot in the medical lab where nobody's going to bother us at this time of night."

Tom nodded, resisting the urge to sigh and roll his eyes. He was pretty sure he knew what this was about, and she probably wasn't going to be entirely pleased when she heard the rest of his news. He hadn't told any of them yet about his meeting with the singers tomorrow, and they were going to need to know.

Once they were both seated, Grace leaned forward to stare him down. "Just to make sure, you know not to make any moves on the local girls, right? I mean, both you and that twin of yours are reasonably well-put-together young men, I'm sure you've had your share of sexual adventures growing up, but you know the Na'vi are off the menu, right?"

Tom could feel his face heating. "I know that," he nodded seriously. "I know how it looked, me spending the whole day with Ninat today and most of yesterday as well but I assure you what is between us is purely research. On both sides, actually. I'm as much her research subject as she is mine."

"Research..." Grace frowned, "and that's all?"

"Oh um..." Tom couldn't believe he was getting this flustered, but something about Grace Augustine just scared the ever-living shit right out of him, especially when she did that "staring through you" thing. "I suppose research and maybe friendship. She seems the type to insist on becoming my friend. She...she's given me an amazing opportunity," he said, "and don't worry, there will be plenty of chaperons around, not that I would ever be stupid enough to make a move on her or any other Na'vi girl. She says it's wrong for Jake to be learning to be Omatikaya and me not to be. Something about twins and separation and some of their legends, so she wants me to meet with her father tomorrow. She talked about training me to become a singer."

He glanced over at Grace and relaxed slightly. She wasn't staring through him anymore, instead, she seemed to be eying him as though he was some kind of plant that had just started whistling "God Save the King" or something.

"She wants to train you as a singer?" she asked carefully. "Not just help you to work on your Na'vi, but to actually become a singer?"

"That's what she said," Tom nodded, "is there something strange about that? I thought that's what they did for Cathy before?"

"No," Grace shook her head "or at least, not completely. They agreed to teach her how to teach their children, the beginning songs and tales the children needed to know, but that isn't the same thing as training as a full singer. Of course, there's no way to know for sure what Kxawn'e will agree to, or if he'll even want to take you on," she pointed out, "but it's quite the opportunity."

"I know," he nodded seriously, "I'm fully aware of how important it is I make a good impression."

"It's not just that," Grace shook her head, "I'm no anthropologist, God knows, but even I can read political situations well enough to know that the singers have a great deal of pull in clan decisions. To have their backing is...never a bad thing. Eytukan will listen to Kxawn'e and Tìyana, his mate, longer than he would listen to the arguments of any other except Mo'at; even his elite hunters."

"That makes sense," Tom nodded, "The singers are the history-keepers, I would imagine that is a position with quite a bit of political pull. It often tends to be, especially in non-literate societies."

"As I said, you're the anthropologist," Grace shrugged. "You're going to need to be more subtle and circumspect about all the time you spend around Ninat though, or take Norm with you if you aren't visiting them in Hometree. In _this_ society, scuttlebutt rules, and if scuttlebutt has you "shagging the local tail" or some other such horrible euphemism, you'll never convince them otherwise."

"Understood, loud and clear," Tom sighed. "I'll work on my sneaking skills for the rest of the time we have an audience. I'm going to be very glad when it's gone."

"Now that's something we can agree on," Grace said, and her expression might almost be called a grin if it wasn't so predatory. "Now you'd better go shower and eat, preferably eat first, that way you won't forget."

"Right," Tom hopped up from the chair and went to get the door for her. She might be scary enough to make his every hair stand on end but he also respected the hell out of her.

"I'm way too old for you, kid," she laughed and shook her head, "go find a cute girl your own age to get out your chivalric tendencies on." She opened the door herself and headed off in the direction of the cafeteria, leaving him standing rather stunned in front of the now-open door.

Finally he shook his head. He might be trained to puzzle out the intricate details of cultures, but individuals still tended to baffle him. Just when he thought he'd parceled everyone into their neat little boxes they up and changed on him again.

It occurred to him just then that Grace shouldn't even be here. Wasn't she supposed to be up at Site 26? He counted the days in his head and blinked. Right. Tomorrow morning was a progress meeting! That meant Norm and Jake were here too! He quickly hurried toward the cafeteria, hoping to catch them before they passed out (in their own beds or, in Norm's case, maybe in someone else's). Just because he saw them in their avatars all the time didn't mean he didn't want to see them in the flesh.

* * *

When he got to the cafeteria, he found Norm, Jake and Cathy all sitting together and grinning at him.

"What?" he protested, giving them a weird look as he set down his plate of...whatever it was that he didn't want to think about as he put it in his mouth, and sat down.

"Oh, nothing," Norm said, "we were just comparing notes."

"Comparing notes about what?" he frowned.

"Why, you and the pretty singer you've been following around like a little kitten follows string," Norm blinked innocently.

"Look guys, keep it down," Tom glanced around at the thankfully mostly empty room, "I already got the lecture about keeping scuttlebutt at bay, I don't need you adding to it."

"I tried to tell them there's nothing to it," Cathy said, "at least not yet, but for some reason they don't entirely believe me."

"There's nothing to it," Tom said firmly. "At most we're becoming friends, and that's all it's going to be. That's all it _can_ be."

"Sure, whatever you say," Jake shrugged. He knew better than to argue when his brother got into that kind of mood, but he also knew Tom and he knew Tom's type of women, and he could already tell his brother was in danger of loosing that resolve of his. Jake wasn't going to try and tell him off for it, but he was ready and willing to be supportive once Tom realized what was going on and inevitably started angsting over it.

"Let's discuss something else," Tom said, "like this party you guys were all raving about when I got back to camp."

"Ah yes, the party!" Norm grinned. "Cathy's genius idea! Inviting the Na'vi to our newly completed house can only help cement relations between us."

"A traditional housewarming then?" Tom asked, "at least on our part?"

"It seems like the right thing to do," Cathy nodded, "I mean, good communication means teaching the Na'vi about us just as much as it means learning about them. Right Tom?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly," Tom nodded. "After all, that's what I just spent the whole day doing."

"And from what I understand, they're just as willing to enjoy a good party as we are," Norm smiled.

"Oh definitely," Cathy laughed, "The Omatikaya _love_ a good party. Any excuse, really."

"So starting tomorrow we should get things ready," Norm said, "I can come up with seating areas and such, and maybe Tom can..."

"Sorry," Tom shook his head, "I'm going to be busy tomorrow."

Jake looked at Norm and raised an eyebrow.

"You aren't exactly making us believe you when you tell us it's nothing," Norm pointed out to Tom, "Not with you spending all day every day with her."

"Did I say I was spending the day with Ninat?" Tom sighed, "She's gotten me a meeting with her father, she says the singers should train me." He grinned at Jake, "She thinks I might be feeling left out since you're having so much fun running around with your ass out learning about the jungle, so she wants to help me keep you company."

"You mean staying at Hometree and all?" Jake grinned.

"I don't know, it's possible," Tom shrugged, "I'm trying not to have any expectations."

"It'll be good to have the company if you do stay," Jake said, "a little sanity break."

"Pfft," Tom laughed, "nothing I do could make you sane, you've been nuts for longer than I can remember."

"Come on," Cathy yawned, "we've got meetings early in the morning and you two, it looks like, have important things to do back at _Kelutral_, so you'd better get at least a little sleep."

"_Srane sa'nu_," Jake rolled his eyes, pushing back from the table and turning to wheel off toward his room, "night."

Tom, Norm and Cathy looked between each other, slightly surprised.

"His accent's improving," Cathy noted.

"Well I'd hope so," Norm said, "We've been working on it enough. I didn't think he'd pick it up so fast though, I mean, it's not like he's multilingual or trained in language acquisition or anything like that."

"Not trained, no, but we've both been bilingual since we were kids," Tom grinned, "even if he probably doesn't think that way. Besides, he's in a pretty immersive environment a lot of the time, anybody'd start picking things up after a month and a half."

"Bilingual? What do you mean?" Cathy looked at Tom. "You never mentioned growing up bilingual."

"We have our own language," Tom shrugged, "common enough with twins when they're little, we just happened to keep ours up."

"Seriously?" Cathy leaned in, "I'd love to study it sometime."

Tom laughed. "Ah, so the researcher _is_ still hiding in there," he said, "I was starting to wonder."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"It's a maybe, we'll talk about it some time later," Tom shook his head. He pushed away the last of his inedible dinner and stood up, "I think he has the right idea, though. It's definitely time for bed."

* * *

After a predictably frustrating morning meeting, Tom and Jake both linked up. Jake, Norm and Grace would return to their outpost that evening, but for now they were to use link beds at the compound.

"Took long enough," Jake grumped as he laboriously hauled his legs up into the link bed, "Neytiri's gonna wonder what the heck I'm doing."

"She'll wait for you," Tom said, "it's not like she can make you wake up, after all."

"No, but she can make it uncomfortable for me once I do," Jake sighed, "Seeya when you get there. Good luck with the singers."

He pulled the top of the link bed down over himself and Tom watched as the coffin-like pod disappeared into the wall, Jake's "sleeping" face popping up on the assigned monitor.

Tom shook his head and laid back down into his own link bed. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. He was feeling unexpectedly nervous, but he fought it down. If it was decided that he wasn't right for the opportunity then there wasn't much he could do about it, after all, so he would just have to put his best foot forward. And in order to do that he was going to have to link up. He shook his head and laughed silently at himself before closing the lid down over himself and feeling the by-now-familiar sensation of his consciousness switching bodies.

He "woke up" in his avatar, sat up and stretched, looking around to see who else was up. He'd seen that some of the link beds were already in use, and he wondered what his fellow scientists were working on. It was only a thought in passing as he got dressed, though. There was still that discernible gap that existed between the social scientists and the "pure" scientists; nobody here except Cathy would really understand how excited he was about the day's activity.

"Their loss," he shrugged to himself as he checked his hair in the mirror, tucking the braids behind his ears. At least in this form he could skip having to shave. He wondered what Ninat would say if he tried to explain human male facial hair, and the thought made him laugh. No doubt she'd screw up her face and ask whyever such a silly thing had come about, and why, if it grew naturally, so many men worked so hard to get rid of it all the time.

He was in a much better mood by the time he made it to the transport, his earlier nervousness almost forgotten. He could totally do this! He was a trained anthropologist with a PhD _and_ plenty of field experience, he could make a good impression if he just put his mind to it!

* * *

Back at _Kelutral_, Ninat was thoroughly amused. She had noticed that Neytiri seemed to be delaying her usual departure time for Jake's training run, and she'd wondered why, but it soon became obvious that Jake was still sleeping and would not wake. She knew about that - the sleep _uniltìranyu_ could not be woken from, where they remained an empty _uniltìrantokx_ waiting for its soul to return - and she would have been a little concerned except that Neytiri did not seem to be. Instead, the future _Tsahik_ was busying herself in gathering pigments usually used to decorate bodies and faces for special hunts and dances. Ninat did not think, though, that this was going to be their use this morning, and she quickly knew she was right. She watched as Neytiri slipped down into the _nivi_ with Jake's sleeping form and began to cover it in little dots of colour, making him look quite ridiculous. That was funny enough, but when he woke up halfway through, with Neytiri's tail resting on his nose, and the two of them almost fell out trying to re-orient themselves into a position that didn't put one or both of them into a very compromising situation, she had to cover her mouth with both hands to keep her laughter from betraying the fact that she was watching.

If Jake had woken, that meant that Tom was on his way as well. Once the commotion in Jake's _nivi_ had died down, Ninat quickly got ready, and grabbed the small gift she'd made for him last night. _Sempul_ had not specified a time for their meeting, but the earlier they got started, the better, really. She debated with herself briefly about sneaking into their house, but she did not want one of the _tawtute_ builders to find her first, so she decided waiting just out of sight again would probably be the best plan.

She wasn't sure if he would have had a chance to eat, so she picked up a few fruits and stashed them in a carry-basket. Once _Sempul_ and he began to talk, she was sure they would both forget about eating, so she wanted him well prepared beforehand.

* * *

Once he'd landed, Tom quickly ducked into the house. He'd stayed "normally" dressed on the way out, of course, but this time he wasn't going to carry his clothes around with him. In order to make the right impression of wanting to blend in with the Omatikaya, he was willing to take the blow to his dignity in good grace.

Still, though, when he stepped out the door and the wolf-whistles started, he turned and glared. He refused to give them the satisfaction of blushing, not that the workers would necessarily know the change in fluorescence would _mean_ he was blushing.

"I see you're ready to go," Cathy grinned.

"Figured I should at least look the part," he shrugged, "Sorry about leaving you with all this," he gestured at the pieces of chairs and beds she was taking into the house to put together.

"Don't worry about it," she shook her head, "I'll make Norm do most of the work when he gets here."

"Just keep an eye on him," Tom laughed, "he's been known to put the wrong things in the wrong slots when he's distracted."

Cathy raised an eyebrow at him. "I don't think you quite meant that like it came out," she said, "or else I'm not the one you ought to be warning."

Tom snorted. "I meant when assembling pre-made furniture," he said, "not...other things. You have a bad mind, _ma tsmuke_."

"I have a sharp mind, alert to linguistic anomalies, there's a difference," she laughed, "now off you go, I can see your guide peeking out of the trees at you over there."

Tom turned his head to see where she was looking and nodded, "I'll be back later," he said, "I don't know how long this is going to take but I'll let you know whatever happens."

"Have fun," Cathy waved after him as he loped off in the direction of the trees, only too happy to disappear into them and get away from the snickering comments coming from the workers.

Ninat smiled at him as he ducked behind a tree. "_I see you dressed correctly today,_" she said, "_That is a good thing. Come, you can eat while we walk back to meet with Sempul_." She handed him a fruit from her basket and he took it gratefully.

"_Thank you,_" he said, "_I did not have a chance to eat yet this morning, or at least, not in this body._"

"_I suspected that might happen,_" she nodded, "_your brother overslept this morning, so your later arrival did not surprise me._" She giggled. "_It is a shame you were not here this morning also to see what I saw._"

"_Oh?_" he cocked his head at her as he walked, "_What did you see that has you so entertained?_"

"_Neytiri decided to punish Jake's oversleeping by painting him with dots,_" she grinned, "_He woke with her crawling all over him in his nivi. I do not think either of them will be able to look the other in the eye for the rest of the day, most likely. Hands went places they really ought not to have, in both cases. Completely innocently, of course,_" she added when she saw Tom's frown. "_It was funny! You should laugh!_"

"_I have told him not to act inappropriately,_" he said, "_especially around Neytiri. He knows he has no right..._"

"_Oh, you thought..._" Ninat shook her head, "_They do not act as those who will mate, although perhaps they act more friendly to each other lately. But do not worry, Neytiri is a wise one, even though she is young, as I am. She will be Tsahik one day, she knows how to listen for the will of Eywa._"

That, for some reason, was not as reassuring to Tom as he knew Ninat had meant it to be, but he shook his head.

"_You're probably right,_" he said, "_and I shouldn't underestimate Jake's intelligence. He knows better than to flirt with a girl who's taken._"

"_Taken?_" Ninat shook her head, "_She is not yet mated, even if it is likely she and Tsu'tey will mate. We do not refer to any person as "taken" by another in that way._"

"_Not even when two people are like your brother and Cathy?_" he asked.

"_Oh, certainly then, but it is obvious those two will be mated, sooner or later,_" she shook her head.

"_But I was under the impression that Neytiri and Tsu'tey were to be mated?_" Tom said, feeling very confused now.

"_That is the intention, yes, and usually the Tsahik and Olo'eyktan are a mated pair, at least in the Omatikaya, but it is not always so. Tsu'tey and Neytiri do not...well, they do not treat each other as two who will be mates, and always Eywa has the final say if a pair will be mated forever. It does not happen often that she rejects a pair but..._" Ninat stopped herself, "_But I say too much and forget myself. Gossip is in very bad taste, especially when you do not know all those involved._"

"_I'm sorry,_" he said, "_I shouldn't have asked, that was rude of me also._"

She patted his hand. "_Perhaps you will have the chance to observe for yourself. You have keen eyes to See how people act with each other, and you have a strong mind to understand what you See._" She smiled at him, then. "_I have something for you,_" she said, changing the topic.

"_That is very kind of you,_" he blinked, "_I apologize I do not have any gift for you in return._"

"_We do not ask for exchange of gifts as tawtute do,_" she shook her head, "_We give gifts because we desire to see the one we gift to happy._" She carefully dug under the fruits piled in her basket and pulled out a small armlet made with three bands of beads. "_I made this for you to wear, to show that you have my friendship._"

"_I...am honoured,_" Tom said, not quite knowing what else _to_ say, "_I will wear it gladly knowing you put your effort into making it for me. Um...will you put it on for me?_" he asked a little hesitantly, "_I'm not quite sure how._"

"_Of course,_" she laughed, _"even with your silly extra finger, tying knots on your own arms is usually fairly difficult, is it not?_"

"_It is,_" he agreed. He found himself fighting a very disconcerting inclination to blush furiously as her fingers brushed delicately against the inner skin of his upper arm as she tied three small knots to hold the armlet on firmly, then turned it to how she thought it looked best.

"_There,_" she nodded, "_now you begin to look more properly attired. And I was right, those colours do suit you quite well._"

Tom found himself quite tongue-tied as she took his hand and led him out into the clearing around Hometree, heading in the direction of one of the larger alcoves tucked into the inner columns.

* * *

Ninat sat Tom down near Ka'tsi _tsmuke_'s usual spot and told him to wait while she went to fetch _Sempul_. She could see that he was a little bit nervous, but really that didn't surprise her. She supposed in a similar situation she would be nervous as well. He really was a sweet little boy in some ways; she could see why Neytiri always referred to Jake as a child. There was a certain innocence to both the twins, and she supposed that was a part of why the _atokirina_ came to them. Or there could be some other reason. She was not _tsahik_-trained, it was not for her to interpret the will of Eywa.

"_Have you brought the uniltìranyu then, 'ite_?" Kxawn'e smiled as he saw her walking toward him.

"_I have, Sempul_," she nodded, "_he is waiting for you._ _A little nervous, but I believe he is ready._"

"_Good,_" Kxawn'e nodded, "_you should prepare also, your sa'nok will be returning today._"

"_Oh! I had forgotten it was today!_" Ninat nodded, "_I will go look out for her but...please let me know how your talk with Tom turns out._"

"_Of course I will,_" Kxawn'e patted her head lightly, "_Now go, you have much to get ready for the trade delegation's return._"

"_Yes, Sempul,_" Ninat smiled and dashed off. She was actually a little glad of the distraction, otherwise she, too, would be tempted to sit and worry over how Tom was doing in being evaluated.

Kxawn'e watched her go with a slightly worried expression. So much was changing now, with the advent of the _tawtute_ and their influences, and the songs did not hold insights into them. He supposed, though, that before the first songs the Na'vi had to manage without their wisdom, and they obviously managed then, they would manage again. One thing that would never change; all the songs spoke of the importance of flexibility, and perhaps now that would be the most important thing, to be flexible enough to bend before the wind of the _tawtute_ and stand strong again once it had passed.

And that flexibility definitely meant learning from and about _tawtute_, and accepting those who were willing to learn and allowing them that opportunity. Ka'tsi had been the first, then Jhakesuuly, who was learning from Neytiri, and now he would examine Tomsuuly. He was inclined to trust his daughter's instinct. He had taught her himself, after all, but he still had to be sure, and in order to do that, he would have to see the boy for himself.

He ducked into the alcove and smiled. "_Greetings, Tomsuuly,_" he said, "_my daughter speaks well of you._"

"_I am honoured by her words, High Singer,_" Tom started to stand.

"_No need to get to your feet,_" Kxawn'e shook his head, "_We will begin by speaking together, and that may be done just as comfortably when seated as standing._"

"_As you say, High Singer,_" Tom nodded, but he smiled as well, and was rewarded with a pat on the shoulder.

"_Please, you need not be so formal. We are two men simply discussing things, please call me Kxawn'e,_" the older man smiled.

"_Then you must call me Tom,_" he grinned, "_I greatly anticipate our discussions._"

* * *

It was around noon when the trade delegation arrived at _Kelutral_, and Ninat was eagerly awaiting them with a bowl of food for each. She greeted them formally, but as soon as all the delegates had dismounted and given their food, and the trade goods had been unloaded and were being taken into the central area to be shown to the Olo'eyktan, she ran over to her mother and hugged her.

"_I have missed you, Sa'nu_," she said, "_and there is much news since you left!_"

"_I have missed you as well, ma 'ite,_" Tìyana smiled, "_Why don't you give me an update as we walk? It is always good to be aware of what is going on._"

"_Ah, Sa'nu, you would not believe it,_" she said, "_We have an uniltìranyu warrior living among us, learning our ways. His name is Jake Sully, and his twin brother Tom Sully is with Sempul right now, on my recommendation._"

"_Oh? So Eytukan has relaxed his edict forbidding contact with the uniltìranyu? That should make Antsu happy._"

"_You have no idea,_" Ninat grinned, "_Tom Sully brought Ka'tsi tsmuke back to us, tsmukan is overjoyed. I believe he was only waiting for you to return from your trip before making things official._"

"_It would make my heart happy to see at least one of you children mated,_" Tìyana laughed. "_So tell me more about this Tomsuuly. You say he is meeting with Kxawn'e, is he a learner of language as Ka'tsi 'ite is?_"

"_No, he is something quite different,_" Ninat shook her head, _"He is like you and me, ma sa'nu, he studies the ways of tribes and what has come before, and how it creates what will come._"

"_Ah, so the tawtute __**do**__ have singers!_" Tìyana blinked, surprised, "_from the way they have always acted I thought for sure they did not, that it was just one more thing they lacked._"

"_I think perhaps they have forgotten to listen to their singers,_" Ninat explained, "_He did not say as much, but Tom seems very frustrated sometimes with his own people. Many times when I asked him about tawtute and why they did this or that, he would sigh and say it was not always so._"

"_That is sad,_" Tìyana sighed, "_to have forgotten the importance of the songs dooms those who ignore them. No wonder the tawtute are so sick in their heads. I think I would like to meet your Tomsuuly._"

"_Well, we could check to see if Sempul has made a decision yet,_" Ninat suggested quickly, "_It has been some hours they have been together, after all._"

"_We could indeed do that,_" Tìyana nodded, noting to herself how anxious her daughter seemed. "_You like him, don't you?_"

"_I hope we will come to be friends,_" Ninat nodded, "_and I admire his quick mind, even if he __**does**__ do strange tawtute things sometimes, like covering himself with far too many clothes._"

Her mother nodded slowly. "_As you say, ma 'ite,_" she said soothingly, "_Let us go rescue your "friend" from your father now. It is time both of them ate the noon meal, after all._"

* * *

Tom, deep in discussion with Kxawn'e, was startled when there was suddenly a hand on his shoulder. He looked over to see Ninat lowering herself to sit next to him. He hadn't even been aware that anyone had come in, and yet not only was Ninat here, but an older woman as well, who smiled at him and gestured with two fingers across her lips, which he took to mean "be silent". He gave Ninat a confused look and she shook her head with a smile.

"_I do not wish to interrupt, ma sempul, but it is time for eating,_" she said, drawing Kxawn'e's gaze to her.

"_Ah, is it already, ma 'ite?_" he blinked, "_I had not realized so much time had passed already._"

He made to get up, but Tom noticed the older woman had moved so that she was behind him, and her hands came down over his shoulders.

"_I will serve our guests,_" she said, "_as is my right and privilege in our home._"

Tom watched with amusement as the older man's head spun around, and with a speed which in a human might have been surprising, given his age, he turned and jumped to his feet.

"_You are home finally,_" he said, "_I hope the trade mission was a success._"

Tom found himself averting his eyes as the couple embraced, leaning their foreheads together affectionately. It was clear that even though they had been together for many years, the love was still strong between them.

"_Has Sempul decided about your situation yet?_" Ninat leaned over to whisper to Tom while her parents were busy with their greeting.

Tom nodded. "_I am to be trained,_" he said, and grinned excitedly, "_I am to stay here starting today, if the Olo'eyktan agrees to it._"

"_Oh Tom! It is just as I hoped for you!_" Ninat said excitedly, "_But we had better get some lunch in you first. Facing the Olo'eyktan is nerve-wracking at the best of times, let alone on an empty stomach._"

* * *

**And now for everybody's favorite part of the fic...vocab!**

_**kelutral**_** - Hometree**  
_**Srane sa'nu**_** - "Yes, mommy" XD Trust Jake to pick up something like that. He'd better watch what he says to Neytiri, if he said this he'd get whacked on the back of the head. Again.**  
_**uniltìranyu**_ **- Dreamwalker, the Na'vi word for an avatar**  
_**uniltìrantokx**_** - dreamwalker body - an empty avatar when its driver is otherwise occupied**  
_**Tsahik**_** - matriarch, interpreter of the will of Eywa**  
_**nivi**_** - familiar word for sleeping hammock**  
_**Sempul**_** - Father**  
_**tawtute**_** - sky people**  
_**tsmuke**_** - Sister**  
_**Olo'eyktan**_** - Clan leader**  
_**atokirina**_** - seeds of the holy tree, pure spirits**  
_**'ite**_** - daughter**  
_**sa'nok**_ **- Mother**  
_**tsmukan**_** - Brother**

**Someone asked me where I get my translations. My resource is the wonderful material on learnnavi dot org. They really are quite amazing!  
**


	12. Chapter 11: Preparations

**Another chapter for you all! See, I haven't totally dropped off the face of the planet! (or gone to Pandora, more's the pity)**

**I had originally planned to have this be the party chapter, but I realized that if I wanted to put everything in that I want to include in the party itself, the chapter was not only going to be far longer than the rest of the chapters so far, but also probably delayed at least until the weekend, and I wanted to update sooner than that.**

**Besides, I feel this works better with the flow of the piece.**

**Also, in this chapter there is a _tiny_ amount of Japanese used. Don't worry, I put a translation for it at the end, after the Na'vi vocab.**

**Enjoy!

* * *

  
**

Brotherhood Chapter 11: Preparations

Jake was still muttering to himself when he and Neytiri got back to Hometree that evening. Well, muttering to himself in his mind, anyway. After the fifth time she had "gently" tapped him on the back of the head for scaring away the prey they were supposed to be stalking he'd managed to keep quiet, but he was still irritated. Well, maybe not irritated so much as embarrassed. He'd tried apologizing to her, but she had been too mad earlier. And it hadn't even been his fault, damnit! He wasn't the one who'd gone crawling all over _her_ sleeping body in a small hammock! Just because his hand had happened to accidentally grope her when he realized what she was doing... He hadn't even meant to do it! Even if her skin _had_ felt incredibly soft...

He shook his head. This was stupid. And he needed a bath. He was still covered in multi-coloured polka-dots.

He heard a swiftly-stifled chuckle behind him and spun to glare at whoever was laughing at his plight, only to realize it was his brother.

"Hey!" he said, "I almost forgot you were going to be here today. How'd it go?"

"I'm here to stay," Tom grinned.

"Congratulations, and welcome," Neytiri turned to him, "Kxawn'e _nawm rolyu_ is a very wise man, if he says you are worthy, I trust his words."

"Thank you," Tom gestured politely to her, "I will do my best to live up to everyone's expectations of me."

"He always does a good job of that," Jake agreed, "now can I go have a bath? Please?" He drooped his ears and made sure to appear particularly pathetic as Neytiri turned her gaze in his direction.

"I suppose you had better," she agreed, "but quickly. We still have much to do before dinner."

"_Irayo,_" Jake grinned and ran off.

"_He makes progress,_" Neytiri said as she watched him go. "_Slow, but still, progress is progress_."

Tom didn't quite know what to say to that, so he just nodded. He watched Jake for a moment as well. "_He's happy here,_" he said finally, "_Thank you for that._"

"You don't need to thank," Neytiri shook her head, switching to English unexpectedly, "I only show, the land makes him happy. Maybe also it will make you happy."

Tom blinked at that, surprised. "Did you think I was unhappy?" he asked.

"You _tawtute_ always frown, never smile in your eyes," she said, "Now sometimes Jhake's eyes smile, it is good, it is Eywa's wish, I think.

"Well, if it is Eywa's wish then I'd better get on with getting happy," Tom grinned. "And learning. I have this feeling I'm going to be pretty busy trying to keep up and learn everything."

"Singers must learn many, many songs," Neytiri nodded, grinning, "but other things too. You will see."

"I'm sure I will," he nodded

"I must go," Neytiri turned to look in the direction Jake had left, "Still today holds lessons for the _skxawng_."

"Tell the _skxawng_ I told him to mind his manners," Tom laughed.

"I will tell him," Neytiri nodded, then she grinned. "and maybe he pushes you in the mud again."

Before Tom could come up with an answer to that she had already darted off, so he just closed his mouth and shook his head. He still had a lot to learn as well, it would seem.

* * *

When she reached the river, Neytiri hid, sneaking up slowly to watch her charge. She had noticed how jumpy he was sometimes, and given his mood after this morning's...unfortunate circumstances, she didn't want to chance upsetting him further.

She really should apologize. She could admit it to herself, at least. His earlier apology had been heartfelt, but she had still been too disturbed by what had happened, and by her own reactions, to accept that apology with the good grace it had deserved. Much of the fault had, after all, been hers.

She didn't regret her initial impulse though, it _had_ been quite amusing. And it had given her a chance to get her hands all over his well-muscled...

She stopped herself, blinking. She was unsure where that thought had come from. Although she supposed it was only natural to admire a well-put-together physique. Yes, that must be it. Surely it could not be anything more than that. After all, this was Jhake-the-_skxawng_ she was thinking about.

Which was exactly the same reason she was hiding right now in a tree which overhung the river, watching her charge as he scrubbed the paint off his body, sitting beneath a low waterfall and letting the water wash over his head and shoulders. It was no different from watching and admiring a particularly strong _pa'li_ or a graceful _nantang_. Probably more like the _nantang_, she decided. Jhake was definitely more of a predator than she had initially given him credit for when she had saved his helpless hide on his first night in the forest.

He was almost ready, she decided. Although his griping earlier in the day had been distracting, once he had calmed himself, he had been showing definite progress. She had seen in his eyes that he was beginning to truly _See_ the forest, not to simply move through it, but to move _within_ it. His skill with the bow had become accurate enough that she did not worry over that, and he was beginning to truly understand his connection to the animals, the need to thank them for their gift of life.

She would tell him tomorrow that she felt he was ready, she nodded to herself. After all, the sooner he passed that test, the sooner he would be out of her hands. He could spend more time with the rest of the young hunters and she could spend time doing...other things.

She frowned. For some reason, being rid of him wasn't as exciting a prospect as it had been when she had first had the responsibility for him forced upon her. Ah well, a little time free of him should help. People got used to their situations, after all, and those they spent much time around. That was probably all it was.

She glanced down again, only to see that Jhake had finished washing himself and was now walking over to the riverbank. She flushed and looked away as she suddenly realized that he'd taken his loincloth off to bathe. She should _not_ be staring at...that. She covered her eyes with a hand, tracking his progress with her ears and giving him plenty of time to get dry and dressed again. It wasn't until she was _sure_ he would be decent again that she peeked. It was safe, she decided, but she was careful to relocate herself within the trees so it wouldn't be obvious that she had been watching when she went to collect her now-clean student.

* * *

Dinner was a new experience for Tom. Well, actually everything today was a new experience but dinner was especially so. He tried to take his cues from Jake, and the first thing he noticed was how carefully his brother watched where he was putting down his feet. With the number of tails lying around, Tom could immediately see why. He tried to follow and sit next to Jake, but Ninat gently caught his arm and turned him.

"_Singers and apprentices sit here,_" she said, leading him to where Kxawn'e, Antsu and Tìyana were seated along with a few other Na'vi who all seemed to be wearing similar jewelry.

Tom smiled and settled himself down in an empty space, glancing around and politely greeting everyone as he was introduced to those he didn't yet know. Ninat sat down next to him and passed him a plate of food. She was, in turn, passed a plate by Antsu, and everyone settled in to eat.

There was so much to see, so much to take in, that at first, Tom actually forgot to eat at all. It wasn't until Ninat tugged at one ear that he realized he'd been sitting in something of a daze just staring at everyone else eating and talking.

"_Eat,_" Ninat laughed, "_If you do not eat you will not have the energy to learn._"

"_Sorry,_" Tom blushed, "_I was just..._"

"_Learning, I know,_" she nodded, "_but there is a time for learning, and there is a time for eating, and right now is not the time for learning anything but how to put food in your belly._"

Tom laughed. "_I suppose you're right,_" he said, looking down at his plate. Many of the plant-based foods looked familiar to him, and the meat looked much like barbecue did anywhere, but the small pile of cooked _teylu_ was a little...disconcerting. Still, good fieldwork meant eating what your subjects ate, and if that meant grubs then so be it. He reached down and picked on up, figuring he might as well start with the least-appetizing portion of his dinner.

He cautiously lifted the _teylu_ to his mouth, closed his eyes and placed it on his tongue. He bit down and was pleasantly surprised at just how _tasty_ it was! He grinned and popped another into his mouth. It was a little like eating popcorn shrimp.

Ninat laughed, and he glanced up from his food nervously. "_Did I do something rude?_" he asked.

"_No, I merely think it is sweet how excited you become over nothing more than eating,_" she said.

"_If you had to eat the awful stuff they feed us at the base, you would understand,_" he shook his head, "_I'm simply relieved to be eating real food again. I mean, fruit is nice, but this is so much more satisfying._"

"_Ah, I see,_" she said with a small smile and went back to her own food.

Even if she hadn't said he was being rude, still, Tom made himself slow down and take breaks between bites of food. He looked around and eventually ended up watching Jake. There seemed to be an interesting dynamic going on with his brother and Neytiri. Jake was eating and talking to some of the Na'vi seated nearby, and Neytiri was eating as well, but she was being very quiet, and her eyes never seemed to leave Jake until he looked her way, at which point she would look away, or down at her plate, anywhere but at him. He wanted to ask Ninat if it was how they always acted around each other, but at the same time, he didn't think it would be a good idea to call too much attention to it. Maybe Neytiri was simply embarrassed about the incident Ninat had told him about that morning.

Evidently Ninat noticed him noticing, though, and she giggled. "_They are most entertaining, just as I said, are they not?_" she whispered to him.

He gave her a small, worried smile. "_They are interesting,_" he conceded, then went back to concentrating on his food and looking at other people than his brother. He'd just have to talk to Jake privately later.

* * *

After dinner it was soon time to go to bed, and that, too, was a new one for Tom. Jake had caught up with him once the formal part of dinner was over, and given him a few tips about how to arrange himself in the hammock so as not to wake up numb in the extremities, but then Neytiri had dragged him off, politely informing Tom that "_Jhake needs his sleep, he has a busy day tomorrow_" and left Tom to follow Ninat to the sleeping-place that would be his for the duration of his time with the clan. It was a good thing, he thought to himself, that he didn't have any issues with heights.

He watched others getting into their _aynivi_, and once he thought he had a good concept of how it was done, he slipped down the branch and lowered himself in. He gingerly arranged himself, trying not to make the _nivi_ swing too much. It was disconcerting, although it did remind him of the hammock he and Jake had played in at their grandparents' house a couple of times...before the string on one side broke and they fell out and almost broke various bones. Best not to be remembering that part!

He smiled to himself as he looked around at all the other _aynivi_ and their occupants. It was especially sweet watching the silhouettes of families bedding down together. Just another example of how closely bonded Na'vi families were.

"_If you do not close your eyes to sleep I will make you_," he heard Ninat whisper, and he realized she was staring at him from her own _nivi_ just to the right of his. "_You must rest, tomorrow will be very busy. We prepare to properly welcome the trade delegation home and you must begin your training as well._"

He smiled, then yawned. "_You're right,_" he admitted, "_I do need to get some rest. I'll get little enough even after I go to sleep here._" He curled up a little more and closed his eyes, slowing his breathing and trying to force himself to sleep.

"_Unil lefpom,_" was the last thing he heard her say before he was opening his eyes again inside his link bed. Peaceful dreams? But he was waking up now, not going to sleep. Wasn't he? He shook his head. He still had plenty to record in his vidlog before that blessed oblivion awaited him, and lately all his dreams had put him back among the Na'vi anyway.

Hmm...Maybe they _would _be peaceful, at that.

* * *

Between training as an apprentice singer and preparing for the housewarming party, the next week was nothing more than a blur for Tom, and from the few snatches of time he'd gotten with Jake, his brother was not doing much better. Jake was one step closer to truly joining the ranks of the hunters, he was beginning to train in how to capture and subdue a banshee, an _ikran_, and he'd said Neytiri was actually letting him contemplate shooting an actual animal, that he was ready to try to make a clean kill.

Tom didn't quite know what to think of that. On the one hand, he was proud as all get out of his twin. It was amazing that he had managed to progress in this so fast, and he seemed to be fitting in better and better and Neytiri had been right, he was definitely smiling more. On the other hand, though, what was he going to do once his tour of duty here on Pandora was up and he got shipped home?

Tom lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. He didn't like that thought at all. He was sure Jake was having the same anxious, confusing thoughts as well. Well, it wasn't like they couldn't just offer to sign on for another tour when their six years were up. After all, Grace had been here for years and years, and it wasn't like anyone else could use their avatars after they left. It would be a financial benefit to the company not to send avatar drivers home. They probably expected most to stay, the six-year term was just to comfort those who were initially unsure about leaving behind everything they had ever known and the only planet they had ever called home.

It would be easy to call Pandora home instead. Maybe too easy. He would just not have to think about it too much. After all, the last six years may have gone past in the blink of an eye, but the next six would be full. Full of learning, and doing, and recording, and _living_. And he couldn't wait.

Feeling eminently better after that thought, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. The next day was the day of the party, and he couldn't wait! Not only because he got to observe a different sort of cultural behaviour, but because parties were awesome!

* * *

The day of the party dawned bright and clear, and there was a general air of excitement around the avatar compound. It had been decided that everyone who had ever spent time at the school was to come for the party night, as an effort to bring a wider range of relations. Of course, that was only an excuse. In reality, everyone wanted to go because it was a party, and it had been way too long since any of them had anything to really celebrate.

The day started early, with Trudy delivering the avatars out to what was being dubbed "the forest house" for lack of a more poetic name. They would all spend the night there, as the party was sure to last far into the night, and nobody wanted to risk the ire of Quaritch by attempting to get a night flight approved. Besides, nobody wants to leave a party earlier than they have to!

Once they got there, everyone was set to different duties. The botanists (with Grace leading) went on a hunt for edibles, and various of the other scientists were in charge of decorations. Someone had even managed to make a banner that said "welcome to your new home" and strung it over the door.

Louise, of course, was completely in her element with party prep. It wasn't that she was shallow - anyone who ever accused her of that would swiftly learn how sharp her tongue could be - but she enjoyed letting loose, and something like this, where there was a good reason for it, just made it even better.

She grinned as she barked good-natured orders and insults at two of the men who were trying to hang the garlands of colourful leaves, blossoms and beads that Cathy and Norm had been making all week. "Taka, your end's all lopsided and twisted again," she pointed out, "I thought it was only basketball that you sucked at?"

"You're the one that's twisted," he rolled his eyes at her, "It'll look straight as soon as you stop tilting your head to look at it. Besides, you should be glad I'm up here on this ladder or I'd really give you something twisted. _Bakemono_," he added the last bit as a mutter under his breath.

She laughed. Teasing Taka was one of her favourite pastimes, especially since his reactions were always so funny. And cute. You couldn't leave out the "cute" part of the equation. Taka's Asian heritage was clear in his avatar's eyes, and Louise thought that made him look particularly striking.

Not that there was anything between them. Best not to get involved with co-workers, after all, right? Of course that didn't leave her many options for getting naked for some hot and heavy action, but that didn't really matter. In the end, there's always the good old joystick, right?

She sighed and shook her head. Clearly there was way too much on her mind when she should be concentrating on how much fun they were going to have tonight. The only part that sucked was they didn't have any alcohol. The biologists frowned upon deliberately fermenting fruits or grains for consumption by avatars who were supposed to be keeping their bodies in peak physical condition, and Grace supported them in that. She'd tried setting up a small operation once, but there really wasn't anywhere to hide the necessary equipment and she'd soon been found out and reprimanded. And kept from linking for a week, which had _really_ sucked.

"Fine, fine," she said to Taka and Mike, the other man working on the garlands, "it's straight enough now. I'm gonna check outside and see if they need any help with food prep."

"Go, we've got this," Mike waved to her, "don't worry about it."

"Thanks!" she waved to them and headed outside. Cathy and Nala, another of the women, had a table set up and were busily cutting fruit into pieces, making a giant bowl of fruit salad. They had obviously already processed quite a bit of vegetables and tubers, although it was still too early to start cooking any of them.

"Need a hand?" Louise asked.

"Sure," Nala nodded to her, "we need to get the plates put together. We don't have proper Na'vi leaf plates, of course, but I packed all the wicker holders from the compound, and tons of paper plates. Do you think you could put the paper plates into the wicker holders for me? That would be really helpful."

"I can do that," Louise nodded, moving over to the side of the table that was covered in utensils.

"I hope we have enough," Cathy worried, "I'm not sure how many of the Na'vi are coming, but there could be quite a few."

"Well maybe we'll luck out and they'll bring some plates with them," Louise reassured her. "Any idea on who all might be coming?"

"Maybe I can help you in knowing that," a masculine voice said, and Louise spun to see who it was. She didn't recognize him, but she immediately realized he wasn't an avatar, but a true Na'vi. The facial differences were a big tip-off, even if she hadn't noticed the four digits of the hand that he placed on Cathy's arm.

"_You still wear these long shirts when I have told you that you have no need to hide your scar,_" he said to her in Na'vi.

Louise pretended to concentrate on her task, but she was watching closely. Especially when she noticed the way that the tiny bio-dots on Cathy's face flared slightly at his touch. So there _had_ been a guy out here after all! She'd always suspected as much, but no matter what bribery she'd tried to use, Cathy had never spilled.

"_I am comfortable like this,_" Cathy shook her head. "_And among sky people it is rude not to introduce yourself,_" she teased.

"_I will introduce myself when I am speaking to the others,_" he teased her back, "_I have something for you. Come, perhaps it will convince you that you need not cover your arms any longer._"

"Um, I'll be right back," Cathy said, looking between Nala and Louise.

"No problem," Louise grinned, "go, the fruit'll wait five minutes. But I expect a proper introduction when you get back."

"Yeah," Nala nodded, her grin almost as wide as Louise's own, "we're supposed to be here to meet the locals, right? To foster better relations and all that good stuff? A proper introduction is the least we can do."

Cathy quickly moved away from the table, disappearing into the forest almost as gracefully as an actual Na'vi.

Once she was away and out of earshot, she turned to look at Antsu. "_You have something for me?_" she asked, raising an eyebrow, "_What was that all about, anyway?_"

"_Exactly what I said it was,_" he smiled at her, lifting his hand to rub his thumb over the arch of her brow, relaxing it, "_there is no need to give me the suspicious look._"

That made her laugh. "_Alright then,_" she said, "_what is my present?_"

"_This,_" he said, holding out a highly decorated cuff of beaded leather that was obviously sized to fit around her upper arm. "_Ninat, Sempul, Sa'nok and I have been working on it for the last little while. Sa'nok suggested it actually. She said sometimes a woman does not want to display her bravery so openly. I don't quite understand what she meant, but..._" He stopped when he realized she was crying. "_Does it upset you? I did not mean to make you unhappy._"

"_No, no, it doesn't upset me,_" she shook her head, wiping at her eyes, "_I am...very grateful. Your mother is very wise. That is exactly the sort of thing I need, I think._" She held her arm out. "_Would you put it on for me?_"

He leaned in to kiss the last of her tears away. He really hoped he could make her feel whole again. It was clear that even with being allowed back into the forest and among the Omatikaya, there was still something paining her in her heart, and he wanted to fix that. "_Of course I will,_" he nodded. He pushed up the loose sleeve of her top and leaned in to gently kiss her scar before tying on the cuff. Its stylized _nantang_ pack pacing around the circumference seemed to him to be a perfect representation of her bravery and dedication to those she held dear. "_Now go change so everyone can admire our handiwork,_" he added with a smile.

"_I'll do that right away,_" she nodded and smiled back. "_And they will all come tonight?_"

"_All my family, yes,_" he nodded, "_and I believe the Tsahik and Olo'eyktan also plan to come, along with many others who attended the school. It will be a truly festive occasion,_" he grinned. "_Now I need to go back. I have chores just as you do, but I will be here tonight, and...we should talk,_" he said, stroking her arm and catching her hand in his to squeeze it once before he let go and slipped away into the forest.

* * *

**And yay it's vocab time!**

**Na'vi vocab:**  
_**nawm rolyu**_** - literally "Great singer", the closest I can come to an Na'vi version of the title I gave Kxawn'e**  
_** Irayo**_** - Thanks**  
_** tawtute**_** - sky people, humans**  
_** skxawng**_** - moron**  
_** pa'li**_** - direhorse, six-legged Pandoran horse-like creature ridden by the Na'vi**  
_** nantang**_** - viperwolf, pack-based wolf-like Pandoran predators **  
_** teylu**_** - grubs, a Na'vi delicacy**  
_** aynivi/nivi**_** - sleeping hammock. _aynivi_ is the plural**  
**_ Unil lefpom_ - Literally "peaceful dreams". I don't know if this is how the Na'vi wish each other a good sleep but it sounded good to me in the context of the situation**  
_** ikran **_**- banshee, four-winged giant predatory "bird", looks more like a pterodactyl. Ridden by Na'vi hunters**  
_** Sempul**_** - father**  
_** Sa'nok**_** - mother**  
_** Tsahik **_**- spiritual leader, priestess, interprets the will of Eywa**  
_** Olo'eyktan**_** - clan leader**

** Japanese vocab:**  
_** bakemono**_** - monster/demon/avenging spirit**


	13. Chapter 12: Party Time!

**Hi again! Hope everyone had a good hidden chocolate day! Another little treat for you all, it's finally time for the party! **** I'm actually pretty proud of it, since I managed to wake a few more voices, I hope you all agree that they are true to themselves.  
**

**And this chapter actually comes close to that M rating, woohoo!  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 12: Party Time!

Cathy smiled to herself as she headed back to the house to change. Antsu really was the most wonderful and amazing thing that had ever happened to her in her life. Somehow even _without _having ever made _tsaheylu_ with her he could already read her mind. Well, or at least understand exactly when she needed cheering up and how best to do it.

"Where did your friend go?" Louise asked her as she walked past the table.

"He had stuff to do," she said. "He'll be back tonight and you can meet him then."

"Did he give you any idea of numbers?" Nala asked.

"A lot," she said, shrugging. "And he said probably Eytukan and Mo'at will be two of them.

"Holy shit!" Nala's eyes widened. "We aren't set up to receive heads of state!"

"Don't worry," Cathy stopped to pat Nala's shoulder, "they aren't _that_ formal, just make sure you set aside two of the plates and that they get first pick of the food and it should be fine."

"If you say so," Nala nodded, but there was still a wary, worried tone in her voice.

"I do say so," Cathy said firmly as she continued on toward the house.

"What did your friend want?" Louise called after her.

"You'll see in a minute," Cathy laughed and closed the door behind her. Once she was inside, she ducked into the room that had been set aside for her and quickly changed into a tank top. Actually, she was very glad of the lack of sleeves. It was hot out and quite muggy, and the less clothing she had to deal with the better. Well, almost. She wasn't quite ready to do the full tribal thing and rely on nothing but necklaces on top just yet. At least not around the other _ayuniltìranyu._

She modeled for herself in front of the mirror and decided she quite liked how the cuff looked. It completely covered her scar, while at the same time looking quite...well, _fierce_ was the only word she could come up with.

As soon as she got back outside, the other two women pounced.

"Oh!" said Nala as she immediately noticed the new piece of jewelry, "Oh Cathy that's incredible!"

"Wow," Louise added, "you're one lucky bitch, you know? Why can't I have a guy who gives me awesome stuff like that? Did he make it himself?"

"Well, he helped with it," Cathy said, trying not to let the attention make her self-conscious, "his family made it. And since when did you even want a guy, Louise? I thought you said you'd sworn off men?"

"Only because all the men I ever went with were total bastards," Louise shook her head, "if they'd given me stuff like that and actually respected me I might be singing a different tune."

Nala laughed at that. "So you claim, but I still say you're just making yourself hard to win in hopes that one of the men will prove himself to you. You are plenty respected up here, girl."

"Maybe I should just go gay and you and I could get together," Louise grinned, leaning over to kiss Nala on the forehead.

"Well there would only be one little problem with that," Nala rolled her eyes, shaking her head, "seeing as how I have no desire at all to go gay along with you."

"Um, if you two are finished your little love-in, I think we'd better get back to working on the food prep," Cathy pointed out to them.

"Right, right," Nala nodded, "back to KP it is."

* * *

It was late afternoon when the first of the Na'vi drifted into the meadow around the house. They were hunters and brought the dressed carcases of two _yerik_, as well as three baskets of cleaned fish. They were soon followed by others, who brought things like plates (Nala celebrated) and prepared _teylu_, but the ones who brought the alcohol were the ones that made Louise happiest.

Tom was already there by that point, and he had to laugh when he saw her expression. "I thought you said linking up drunk was a bad idea," he said.

"That's on the human end. I'm quite willing to try it from the other side and see if it's any better," she grinned. "You too, I'd bet."

"It would be rude to refuse their generosity," Tom shrugged.

"Suuuuure, whatever you say," Louise laughed and danced away in the direction of the outdoor "kitchen" again to help.

Alone for a moment, Tom looked around to see if he could find anything to do. It didn't seem right sitting around, especially as he was technically one of the "hosts" of this event. He hauled himself to his feet and headed in the direction of the house, figuring that at least there he might be able to greet guests and show them around. He'd only made it a few steps, though, before Ninat grabbed him by the arm.

"_Come,_" she said, pulling him in the direction of the far side of the meadow, away from the cooking fires, "_Ka'tsi tsmuke will play and sing she says, we must help accompany her._"

"_Um...I don't think I know any of the songs well enough yet,_" Tom hesitated, "_I don't want to be disruptive,_"

"_She sings tawtute songs,_" Ninat shook her head, "_and don't worry, you need only drum tonight unless you feel ready for more._"

Tom smiled with a small relieved sigh. "_Thank you,_" he said, "_I know you said I can be a singer but the actual singing is the part that still worries me._"

"_You have a good voice,_" Ninat frowned at him, "_I know you have tried to explain this worry to me before but I still do not entirely understand. You show no worry when we practice together without an audience. Still, even if I do not understand, it worries you, so I must allow you time to become accustomed._" She grinned at him, "_Soon enough I will have you singing before all the clan without even thinking about what you do and who might hear you._"

When they got to where Cathy was setting up, Tom was surprised to realize that she had a modern-looking instrument case with her.

"It's a sized-up violin," Cathy said, seeing where his gaze fell. "One of the few luxuries my parents deigned to send with me. Probably they were just glad to think I was getting out of their hair, and they didn't want to see all the money they spent on lessons go completely to waste," she shook her head.

"Ah," Tom nodded, knowing better than to say anything more than that. Cathy had confessed to him during one of their less-volatile discussions that she had been trained from a very early age in the violin with the expectation that she should follow her family's illustrious musical career. She, on the other hand, had been far more interested in studying languages. Her parents had been very much less than pleased with her academic choices, and had let her know in no uncertain terms that unless she did something extremely spectacular to justify them, she was cut off from the family funds and would have to make her own way. Which she had managed to do just fine, of course. She had always been a resourceful woman.

"You two should go warm up," Cathy nodded in the direction of the forest behind her, "Most of the rest of the singers and musicians are out there in various spots where they won't interfere with each other's practice."

"Come, Tom, we will make warm," Ninat nodded, pulling him on into the trees.

He really needed to correct some of her English usage, Tom noted to himself as he desperately tried to suppress the blush that had come to his face at her words which, taken the wrong way, could be considered slightly suggestive.

Not that he was thinking of her that way of course! It was just the curse of his male brain taking even the most innocent statements and putting other meaning to them!

"_I thought you said I didn't have to sing,_" he pointed out as she pushed him to sit down, then arranged him so that his shoulders were back and his back straight and tall, the proper posture for singing.

"_You do not have to, but if you choose to your voice should be ready,_" she pointed out. "_Besides. If I am not to hear your voice in the chorus tonight I want to hear it now. Sing something to me. Not Na'vi, sing something tawtute._"

Tom blinked. "_Something tawtute? I'm...not sure I can think of something off the top of my head like that, I mean, I haven't sung anything properly since I was a kid._"

"_We will start with the beginning then,_" Ninat said, "_We will start with scales, and when you find a note that sings to you of tawtute songs, then you will remember._"

Start at the beginning with scales. Tom suppressed a groan. That made him think of a song, but he really _really_ didn't want to sing it. It was obnoxious, for one thing, and it would be stuck in his head for weeks. Maybe if he did as she said and just sang scales with her first, something else would come to mind. He really hoped it did. He smiled and nodded to Ninat. "_We will begin with scales,_" he agreed.

* * *

Back at the house, Jake and Neytiri had just arrived, and Jake grinned at the party atmosphere. The smells of food cooking and the sounds of people chatting in both English and Na'vi seemed...well, it just seemed good and right. Of course, not all the Omatikaya were here, and the ones who were also were those who were more inclined to like the avatars, but still, he figured stuff like this only helped in trying to get relations better again. He'd been taken aside for a long chat with Quaritch when he was back at Hell's Gate the week before, and he was really starting to wonder about the man's sanity. He seemed so _rational_ until you actually thought about what he was saying and how it didn't line up with what it was actually like out here. Being stuck in the middle really sucked, though. He could already tell the chances of convincing the Omatikaya that they needed to leave so Parker and co. could tear down their ancestral home to get at the unobtanium it hid were pretty much slim to none.

He had his suspicions about that. He was no scientist, after all, but even a dumb grunt like him could put two and two together, given the right set of information, and between Grace's blathering on about how the roots of the trees were like some kinda brain, and Parker Selfish going on about how unobtanium was such an awesome superconductor, he was beginning to have the inkling of an idea. He couldn't quite figure out what it was, yet, but there was something at the back of his head that wanted to get out and make itself known. He only hoped whatever it was figured itself out in time for it to be of some kind of use to him, or to the Omatikaya.

Maybe he should try and take some time to sit down and really talk with Tom. They were both so insanely busy lately that even though both their avatars were living at Hometree, he still barely saw his twin for more than a few minutes a day. Even now, as he looked around, he didn't see Tom anywhere, although he knew he must be around. Maybe later on, when the party got going properly he could find Tom and drag him into a corner somewhere and pick his more scientific brain.

* * *

Up at Site 26, Norm rolled over and sat up with a small frown. "I guess I should get in," he said, "I kindof lost track of time, there."

Trudy laughed and pulled the sheets back up over her shoulders. "I dunno, I'm pretty sure I know where the time went," she grinned.

"I wish you could come," he said, running his fingers through her hair.

She made a face at him and shook her head. "I'd stick out like a sore thumb," she said, "besides which fact there's the problem that I can't eat any of the food and I'm so tiny everyone would trip over me."

"You aren't that short," he laughed.

"Compared to the ten-foot-tall blue folks? Come on, babe, I'm like the size of one of their babies."

"You'd make a gorgeous avatar," he said.

"And give up my baby? You're kidding, right? Besides, no offence but I'm no science geek."

"Neither is Jake," Norm smiled, "but you're right, we need you and your baby, and you're pretty damn cute just the way you are," he said, then blushed. "Sorry, that was corny."

"You _are_ corny," she laughed, then pulled him down for one last kiss, "now get your ass into that link bed, you're gonna miss the whole party. Just keep your eyes where they're sposedta be, cause if I hear from Jake that you were flirting with any of those half-naked blue girls I'm gonna hafta spank your cute little ass."

"I'll be good," he grinned.

"And put some clothes on before you link up," she laughed, "cute little ass or not."

Norm, who'd been just about to hop up into the link bed, stopped dead and ran back to the room to grab some sweatpants and a t-shirt, his face a very un-becoming shade of fuchsia. The last thing he heard as he closed his eyes and entered link was Trudy's delighted laughter.

Back in his avatar body in the cabin he stretched, then headed out to see what was up. He slipped out the door just as Mo'at and Eytukan were arriving. Perfect timing! He hadn't missed dinner after all! He tried to blend into the crowd, but Jake had been waiting for him.

"Trudy keeping you busy?" Jake said, seeming to appear next to Norm out of nowhere.

"Um...no, I mean, well, um, actually yes," Norm blushed.

Jake laughed. "All good, man, all good, just as long as I don't have to get surprised with any more free shows, you got me?"

"Hey, that only happened once," Norm protested. And it was only going to happen once. He wasn't about to let anyone else ogle Trudy's...assets, unintentional or not. He sighed. He had fallen fast and hard for the spunky pilot, and he still wasn't sure where the relationship was going to end up.

"Girls are complicated," Jake agreed with that sigh. "C'mon man, they brought booze and everything, and now that everyone's here the feast can begin. Let's get ourselves something to eat. You can come sit with Neytiri and me, she won't mind I'm sure."

* * *

About the same time that Jake and Norm were chatting, Tom and Ninat had returned to the meadow and were settling themselves down with the rest of the singers.

"_What will you start with?_" Ninat asked Cathy, looking around, "_and what type of accompaniment do you need?_"

"_I am going to start with only voice,_" Cathy smiled, "_I have been working on a little something just for this occasion. I hope it will be enjoyed._"

"_Your singing is always enjoyed,_" Antsu smiled at her, rubbing her knee, "_Is this to be the "old singing" you told me about?"_

"_It is __**Sean-nós**__, yes,_" she nodded, "_I haven't had much call for it lately, but it seems to me it will suit this situation well._"

"What's "_sean-nós_"?" Tom asked, "I've never heard of it."

"Well you don't have Irish roots, now do ye, boy?" Cathy laughed, putting on an accent playfully. "It's the very old, traditional way of singing in Irish. One of the things my parents wish they'd never taught me, seeing as how it was what made me want to learn languages."

"Okay, so what's it like?" Tom asked, curious now.

"You'll just have to hear it," she shook her head, "explanations pale before actually listening. It's a song of emigration that I've picked, about making your home where you are, and the welcome strangers are glad to have. I thought it would be appropriate." She smiled at him, then closed her eyes, took a deep breath and began to sing.

She didn't announce beforehand, but it didn't take long for the whole group to fall quiet. Nobody could understand a word of what she was saying, of course, since she was singing, Tom assumed, in Irish, but the plaintive tune struck right to the heart. When she reached the end of the first verse, though, she switched languages, sliding effortlessly into Na'vi.

For the third verse she changed again and was now singing in English, and looking around at the other avatars, Tom could see that they were greatly moved. He wasn't surprised. He was feeling more than a twinge of emotion himself, and he was one of the relative newbies.

He felt someone squeeze his hand and was surprised, when he glanced over, to see Ninat watching him with a sympathetic expression on her face. He hadn't thought he looked _that_ sad.

Each verse, as she came to it, was the same. Sung in Irish, then Na'vi, then English. This meant the song took a little time, but there wasn't any sense of impatience among the audience at all. When the song ended, there was a silence and a stillness for a moment, which noone wanted to interrupt, and before the clapping could begin, Cathy nodded to Antsu, who picked up a drum at the same time she picked up her fiddle, and she began to play. The spell of words broken, everybody smiled and began to chat again and fill up their plates, although quietly, so they could still hear the music.

* * *

The feasting was a whirl of colours and impressions for Louise, and she was, quite frankly, completely and totally seduced by the party atmosphere. And the alcohol. Can't forget the alcohol. _Definitely_ seduced by the alcohol! At some point in the evening she found herself dancing, one among many. There weren't any real steps to the dance, as far as she could tell, everyone was simply moving to the beat of the music. Cathy wasn't playing anymore, she was taking a rest and some of the other Na'vi singers had taken over, and something about that made Louise frown. Oh yeah, Cathy had said she was gonna introduce her guy to them, but they'd barely even gotten the guy's name before she'd said she had to go warm up, and Louise wanted to know more!

She looked around, but one blue-skinned and black-haired form was pretty much like any other right now, and as for counting fingers, well, things were getting...a little blurry. _Damn_ that was some good moonshine the Na'vi brewed! She moved a little away from the dancing area and turned in a circle, thinking maybe she might have more of a chance of finding Cathy that way, but she quickly realized spinning around was just _maybe_ a bad idea.

"Oops!" she heard a laughing voice and felt someone's hands come down on her shoulders as she lost her balance. "Careful there, you might just fall over," he...he? Yeah definitely a male voice, said.

Taking advantage of her much greater range of neck motion in this body, she looked over her shoulder to see who had caught her.

"Oh, hey Takakaka!" she giggled, "what's up? I'm lookin' for Cathy-smathy, you seen her anywhere?"

"No, I haven't seen her for at least an hour," he shook his head, laughing. "You really are rather gloriously drunk, aren't you?"

"Ohhhhyeah," she grinned, "these Na'vi really know how to brew it right!" She tried to turn and tripped over her tail which had somehow ended up between her legs, falling into him.

Taka laughed even harder. "You'd better sit down before you fall down," he said, pushing down on her shoulders and rather effortlessly rearranging her into a seated position on the soft moss.

The spot where they were was away from the main light of the fires, so the bioluminescence of the moss was visible where it was touched, and Louise was completely fascinated by it, poking it and rubbing it and lying back fully on it to roll around and make a "light angel" with her arms and legs.

Taka sat down next to her, frowning slightly, and she reached up to try to flick his ear (she couldn't quite reach it, even though she thought it ought to be close enough)

"Takakaka," she giggled, "you shouldn't frown, it makes your face look not-as-cute. Maybe you need to find someone to feed you some more drink. I'd feed you more drink 'cept I don't think I could hold it steady enough an' there's no point giving you an empty bowl I spilled all over you!" She cackled as she got lost in that mental image for a minute.

"I'm pretty sure you've drunk enough for both of us," he said, chuckling, "you're going to regret this in the morning, you know."

"Naw," she grinned, "won't be in this body in the mornin', I figure I'll just give it time to get over the hangover 'fore I link up again! Problem solved!" She looked up at him, "You're cute when you're all worried over me an' stuff." She could see (blurrily) that his face seemed to be getting brighter, and that made her giggle helplessly. "an' you're even cuter when you're all glowy!"

"I am not "all glowy", whatever that means," he said firmly, "and what do you mean cute?"

"I mean you're cute all the time but 'specially when you're worried or when you're glowy or, like, always," she rambled, reaching out and managing to catch his arm and pull him over, "really really cute. Didn't you know that?"

"As a matter of fact I had no idea you thought like that," he said, grinning as he caught himself with his other arm before he fell on her, "and you know, I think I'm just about drunk enough myself to have plas...plus...plausible deniability," he enunciated the big words very carefully, revealing that he was perhaps a bit less sober than he'd been letting on as well, "so we'll just forget this ever happened tomorrow, ne?" he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her, "cause you're still a _bakemono_, even if you _are_ cute when you're drunk."

* * *

Meanwhile, some way away from the party, Antsu and Cathy were walking hand in hand. Well, more like he was leading and she was following, but the outcome was still the same, basically.

"_Where are we going?_" she asked, peering around and not entirely recognizing their location, although she knew they'd been walking in the direction of Hometree.

"_You'll see when we get there,_" Antsu smiled secretively.

"_Does this have to do with what you said earlier about having to talk about something?_" she asked.

"_Quite likely,_" he agreed noncommittally.

"_Well you're no help!_" she complained, but she had to laugh. He was being so secretive but his tail was twitching in that way that she'd learned early on meant he was excited about something, and that was making her excited as well.

He led her along a log across a stream, his pace picking up as they neared what must be their destination. There was a soft blue/white glow up ahead, and Cathy couldn't help but gasp in wonder. She knew where they were now, although she'd never actually been here before. _Utral Aymokriyä_, the tree of voices.

"_It's beautiful,_" she breathed, looking around her, "_but is it right for me to be here? I have not been formally brought into the tribe, and I haven't been through uniltaron yet._"

"_But you have been through your tribe's rites of adulthood, have you not?_" he pointed out.

"_Well, yes,_" she hesitated.

"_It is not unknown for members of the tribe to bring outsiders here, given certain circumstances,_" he said, leaning in close to her, "_I wish to make you one of the Omatikaya in a different way, just as acceptable. I have waited two years. Two years and three months since I completed uniltaron and Sempul confirmed my training was complete. I do not wish to wait any longer to chose my mate,_" he said and kissed her before she could answer.

She whimpered softly into the kiss and leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "_I am sorry I made you wait so long,_" she said, smiling as he finally broke the kiss, "_I wish for nothing more than to be the one you choose._"

"_You have always been my choice,_" he shook his head, his hands skimming up the back of her tank top, slowly lifting it from her body, "_I have not wanted any other since we met._"

She lifted her arms and let her top be stripped away, barely even noticing. She wasn't wearing anything under it, the combination of lower gravity and her avatar body's physiology negating the human need for support, but she didn't feel at all uncomfortable or ashamed to be standing out in the middle of a grove of trees with nothing on top. On the contrary, it felt right, and when Antsu brought his queue forward it felt almost like a dream. Her own hand seemed to move almost of its own volition as she brought the end of her queue up to his, and the sensation of _tsahaylu_, of bonding, was...indescribable.

She whispered his name against his lips as he leaned in to kiss her again, but words were not truly necessary. In fact, they seemed rather redundant when she could already feel all the love he felt for her echoing through her own heart. She reached out to him, physically but also mentally, and she melted into him as the two of them sank to the ground.

* * *

**I tried to follow them a little further, but Antsu informed me quite firmly that no voyurism was allowed, at least not this time, and since I'm not keen on pissing my muses off I agreed. XD Taka and Louise, on the other hand, have no such qualms...**

**And now, vocab!**

**Na'vi vocab:**  
_**tsahaylu**_** - the bond. Neural link between Na'vi and their mounts, or between mated pairs.**  
_**ayuniltìranyu**_** - dreamwalkers, plural. Na'vi term for Avatars**  
_**yerik**_** - hexapede, deer-like prey animal**  
_**teylu**_** - edible grubs, a Na'vi delicacy**  
_**tsmuke **_**- sister**  
_**tawtute **_**- sky person, the Na'vi term for humans**  
_**Utral Aymokriyä**_** - tree of voices, Na'vi sacred site where they are able to link with the tree and hear the uploaded voices of their ancesters**  
_**uniltaron **_**- dream hunt, a Na'vi rite of passage into adulthood, works basically like a native spirit quest.**  
_**Sempul **_**- father**

**Japanese vocab:**  
_**bakemono**_** - monster/ghost/powerful spirit**

**Irish Gaelic vocab:**  
_**Sean-nós**_** - old style  
**

* * *

**And to help you all understand it, an explanation of Sean-nós singing:**

**Taken from a very useful article linked to from the wiki (because I fail at explaining it any better myself)**

**1. A bare voice (not 'sweet', with a certain 'natural fierceness').**

**2. No vibrato.**

**3. No dynamic. (loud/soft)**

**4. Emotion is expressed through the use of vocal ornamentation, which varies from singer to singer.**

**5. Free, non-metronomic rhythm used by the singer.**

**6. The meaning of the words dictates singing from the heart, with 'soul'. (Without dynamic - see above).**

**7. Often there is an emphasis on the consonants l, m, n, r to facilitate the free rhythmic pulse and to create a drone effect.**

**8. Occasional nasalisation.**

**9. Music takes precedent over the lyric.**

**10. Often extra meaningless syllables are introduced, e.g., "Thug (a) me".**

**11. The use of the glottal stop/dramatic pause.**

**12. It's unaccompanied.**

**13. The melody varies from one verse to the next, and from one performance to the next. This is often referred to as the 'variation principle'.**

**14. And last but not least, the singing is in the Irish language.**

**All except for that last point, this sounds very similar to the Na'vi singing we have heard, so I'm making the intellectual leap that the styles would not be hard to move between.**


	14. Chapter 13: Night Life

**Wheee! Got the chapter out! This has been a fun one, I must say. And we're getting closer and closer to that truly "M" rating . Lots of interesting muses have woken up as well. Quite frankly, Grace isn't the only one who wants backstory on one little tidbit that came up about halfway through the chapter XD**

**Anyway, have fun, enjoy, and keep your fingers crossed for me that I have time to write between now and Sunday, or else it will be very slow going for the next four weeks. I'm starting my practicum and will be very, very busy (although I will try to find time to write at least a little in between, for my sanity if nothing else).  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 13: Night Life

Louise pouted when Taka suddenly froze with both hands up her shirt, then slowly and carefully withdrew them.

"What're you doin'?" she whined.

"It occurred to me that we might not want to do this not ten feet away from the majority of the party and out in the open air," he pointed out, smoothing out her shirt where he'd rucked it up and also, incidentally, stroking along her ribs and stomach.

Louise frowned, thinking about what he'd just said. "Yeah, I guess..." she hesitated, "but where _are_ we gonna do this then? Cause if you wimp out on me now I'm gonna kick you in the balls, just so you know. When you're human so you can't just disconnect and forget it happened."

He just laughed at that and leaned over to kiss her again before levering himself to his feet and pulling her up as well. "Let's find somewhere a little more private," he nuzzled her ear as he led her out into the forest.

Louise giggled helplessly as she weaved on her feet, Taka the only thing keeping her from tripping over her tail, twigs on the trail or absolutely nothing at all. Somewhere deep in her brain the part that cautioned her against things like this when she was sober was yelling at her, but she told it quite firmly just where it could take itself to die. Taka-the-cutie wanted to make out with her, and all the rest of her soused brain was quite definitely okay with that idea.

It wasn't long before they found a nice hidden clear area in among the roots of a couple of trees, a large leaf overhead providing not only shelter but light from its magenta-accented blue phosphorescence.

"It's sooooo pretty," she sighed as she looked around the little bower.

"So're you," Taka said, leaning her back against one of the tree trunks and kissing her thoroughly again.

Now that, she decided, was definitely how a man was supposed to act. She wrapped her arms around him and slid her hands up under his shirt with a grin.

"You really think I'm pretty?" she breathed as he moved his kisses down her neck.

"Frickin' gorgeous," he muttered, "now shut up and lemme get to work."

That made Louise giggle helplessly, but her giggles turned into a gasp of shocked pleasure when his hands pushed her top up to expose her breasts and began playing with them as he continued to explore her neck with nibbles and kisses.

Since she was pretty much topless now, she figured it was only fair to return the favour. She tugged his shirt up and ran her nails lightly down his back, grinning when she heard him groan softly into her skin. She let her hands explore, taking in the strong, defined muscles of his back and rear, and although it was _different_ to encounter a tail, it certainly wasn't a _bad_ thing. Especially when the tip of it curved up to wrap around her waist. She briefly wondered if he was doing that subconsciously or not, but the question quickly slipped her mind as he pressed even closer against her and moved up to kiss her hard again.

Her hands clenched, one into his hip and the other around the base of his tail, one of which apparently felt good, because he groaned into the kiss and thrust against her almost automatically. So she tried again, first gripping her fingers into his hip, then, when that didn't produce the desired result, squeezing his tail. Biological experimentation, she decided, was definitely worthwhile. Especially when he lifted her legs off the ground and encouraged her to wrap them around him.

"You," he panted, "are a very bad girl. That makes me want to...do things we shouldn't do even here where nobody's watching." He chuckled slightly breathlessly, "at least not on a first date."

The tip of his tail which was around her waist moved slightly, flicking against her inner thigh just below the hem of her shorts and making her just a little crazy. "First date? Izzat what this is?" she raised an eyebrow at him, "Didn't know you were planning to make this official an' stuff."

"You bet your sweet tail," he grinned at her slightly stunned expression, "but you're getting off topic." He wrapped his arms around her and knelt, lowering both of them to the moss covering the ground in their little bower. "I thought I was supposed to be doing this?" He lifted her top completely off and bent down to kiss and then lick one breast and then the other.

She was going to say something, but whatever it was it was completely derailed by that. The sensations of arousal that were taking over her body were, while familiar in some ways, very different in others. She felt a loose, floating sensation different from the alcohol which was still coursing through her system, and a slight buzzing, as if she was caught in some kind of feedback loop. It felt good, but at the same time, it also felt very...sad. She couldn't figure out what was wrong, but somehow tears were trailing down her face.

It didn't take him long to notice that something was off, and when he saw the tears he froze. "What's wrong?" he asked, quickly moving up to hug her more gently and kiss her cheeks.

"Don't know," she shook her head, "you didn't hurt me or anything, felt good, just...really sad. I dunno why."

"Well you aren't supposed to feel sad," he said, stroking her hair, "that wasn't what I was going for at all."

"I know," she said, "sorry, I didn't mean to spoil everything."

"You didn't spoil everything," he shook his head, "if you feel sad, maybe I should just hold you for a while until you feel less sad, how does that sound?"

"That sounds good," she nodded, cuddling into him as he rolled over to lie beside her, the two of them gazing up at the leaf which shielded their little hideaway. Louise closed her eyes for just a moment, breathing in the wonderful scent of him, and before she knew it she was opening her eyes inside her link bed, and feeling extremely odd. Going from pleasantly drunk and slightly horny to stone cold sober in the blink of an eye was...disconcerting. She closed her eyes again, willing herself back into the link.

* * *

Meanwhile, the party carried on, and Jake was having a great time! The food was great, the _booze_ was great, and everybody was being so friendly! He'd finally managed to track down Tom, and the two of them were comparing "learning Na'vi" stories from each of their different training routines, until he finally remembered why he was looking for Tom in the first place. He reached out and grabbed his brother's upper arm.

"Hey, man, I almost forgot. I've got this crazy theory I wanna run by you," he said, "only, I'm not a science guy so it's probably real dumb."

"You're not as dumb as you think you are," Tom shook his head, "we've got the same brain, remember? You just use it for different stuff usually. So what's your theory?"

Jake glanced around, then leaned in closer and switched to "twin". "_I've been thinking about the trees and _unobtanium_,_" he said softly, "_Maybe I've just been listening to too many of Grace's rants, but I wonder...I mean, the biggest deposit's under Kelutral, right? And it's some kinda superconductor kinda thing, right? And the trees talk to each other and stuff? So what if the trees actually need _unobtanium _like how mom's tomatoes she always tried to grow needed fertilizer?_"

Tom blinked. Then he blinked again. "Holy shit," he whispered, "_That's actually...that really could be what's going on. I mean, we'd have to test it, of course, and I know nothing about botany really, beyond undergrad biology, but I could see that happening definitely._"

"_But I don't even know how we'd test it or anything,_" Jake sighed.

"_We'll ask Grace,_" Tom said, "_she'll know some way. I'm surprised she hasn't thought of something like this herself._"

"_Just...whatever you do don't tell her it was my idea,_" Jake insisted, "_she'd never believe it, for one thing, and she might not listen to it just because._"

"_Jake,_" he sighed, "_that's ridiculous. I'm sure Grace won't refuse to listen just because it's your idea. I shouldn't claim credit for it, I never made that connection at all._"

"_I don't care about credit,_" Jake shook his head, "_I just want to make sure the idea's heard, that's all._"

"_But..._" Tom protested, but he was interrupted as Ninat sat down next to him and handed him a plate of...something he hadn't seen before.

"_What language were you speaking just now?_" she asked, curious, "_I've never heard it before._"

"_It doesn't really have a name and only Jake and I speak it,_" Tom smiled at her, "_it's our own private language._"

"_Ah,_" she nodded, "_I brought this for you, it's a special treat, preserved fruit,_" she smiled. "_Try one!_"

"_Thank you,_" Tom smiled at her and placed one of the bits of fruit in his mouth. His eyebrows went up. "_They're really tasty!_"

"Let me try," Jake reached out for some, but Tom slapped his hand away.

"Get your own!" he said, pulling the plate closer to his chest.

Jake pouted, then turned to Ninat. "Will you get me some, _sevin_?" he asked, making puppydog eyes at her. Then he yelped as he felt Tom squeeze his ear.

"That's rude!" Tom glared, shifting so he was slightly in front of Ninat, "You apologize right now!"

Ninat giggled and placed her hand on Tom's shoulder. "_It's alright, Tom, I wasn't insulted,_" she assured him. Then she turned to Jake. "If you want you should Neytiri ask," she smiled sweetly.

"Um, that's okay," Jake shook his head, "she wouldn't be nice to me like that. Um..._ngaytxoa_...for being a child."

"Jake," Tom glared, "that should be "_ngaytxoa _for making an inappropriate pass at you" if you're really apologizing."

"What? I totally wasn't!" Jake insisted, "I wouldn't do that to you, bro!"

"You were," Tom shook his head, trying to ignore the fact that he was sure his face was absolutely blazing.

"Okay, well it won't happen again, I promise," Jake nodded solemnly, "I don't poach, man, you know that."

"You weren't," Tom insisted, "I just didn't want to see any misunderstandings, that's all!"

"Jake," Ninat grinned at him, "Maybe you go drink get? For Tom? He more drink needs I think?"

"Definitely!" Jake grinned and hopped (a little unsteadily) to his feet. "More drinks coming up."

"_Your word order is a little wrong,_" Tom said, turning to Ninat, "_You have it almost right except the thing or person needs to come after the action._"

"_You may teach me tomorrow,_" she shook her head, placing a finger over his lips, "_tonight I think you need to relax. I will help, if you let me._"

"Um..." The thoughts that started moving through Tom's head at that point completely derailed his ability to form words. It wasn't fair! He was trying so hard not to read things into what she said, but no male should be faced with statements so blatantly easy to take the wrong way! Especially when he was already somewhat tipsy.

"_That's better,_" she nodded, scootching in closer and leaning over to see his face, "_Your tanhì are bright,_" she smiled, "_it suits you, I think. You are always far too serious. Parties are for having fun. Now,_" she picked up another piece of candied fruit from the plate that sat forgotten in his lap and held it to his mouth, "_eat, and enjoy. And if you will not eat on your own then I will make you._"

"_Ninat, please,_" Tom sighed, taking the bit of fruit from her and popping it in his mouth, "_don't make me think things I should not be thinking._"

"_How do you know you should not be thinking them?_" she blinked innocently at him, the tip of her tail flicking ever-so-slightly toward him, "_perhaps I mean you to think them._"

"_You've only known me for just over a week!_" he protested, "_I shouldn't even be contemplating thinking anything even close to what that made me think!_"

She leaned in closer to whisper in his ear, "_I watched you for much longer, and everything I have seen shows me no reason not to become your friend as well as your teacher. As for what thoughts come into your head, I can do nothing about that, but do not worry, you do not offend me. Quite the opposite, in fact. Most males prefer the more...athletic females, who do not chatter on for hours about things they could care less about._

"_That's ridiculous,_" Tom frowned, "_You're by far the most attractive, intelligent woman I've met among the Omatikaya, not to mention you sing sweetly enough to move anyone's heart._"

"_You see?_" she nodded, "_You do not think like they do, you See me, as they do not._" She picked up another bit of fruit and pressed it to his lips, "_Now hush. For this night at least, pretend that you do not need to hold yourself apart._"

With a sigh, Tom gave in and opened his mouth, letting her feed him. After all, it was only one drunken night, and it wasn't as though he and she were actually doing anything more than fairly harmless flirting. She was right, he did deserve a little fun. He'd been good ever since he arrived...well, even before he left Earth, really. One night of letting loose a little wasn't going to kill him.

By the time Jake finally made it back with a cup of booze for Tom, Ninat had managed to even lean against him slightly, and she grinned at Jake when she saw him approaching.

"I'll just leave this here for you," Jake stage whispered with an answering grin as he set down the bowl and headed back into the fray. He figured Tom didn't need any distractions that might remind him not to be bad. After all, _he_ was the only one who was really stressed about not flirting with the locals. The way Jake saw it, as long as everyone kept in mind that flirting was all it was, for now, everything would be fine. He decided to look around for Norm. The geek should be an entertaining drunk, and it never hurt to have damning information for the odd bit of blackmail when necessary.

Before Jake found Norm, however, Neytiri found him, gave him another bowl of booze and dragged him into the crowd of dancers. He didn't protest too hard. No straight male could be expected to refuse a gorgeous woman leading him anywhere, especially with that grin on her face and the sway in her hips and tail.

There weren't any steps to the dance, which was probably just as well, since he definitely wasn't coordinated enough at the moment to follow anything very complicated. He just moved and swayed along with the crowd, men and women moving in a similar fashion around him, and when he caught Neytiri's eye he grinned at her. One thing he had to say for them, the Na'vi _definitely_ knew how to party!

* * *

Grace, meanwhile, had managed to resist the temptation to over-imbibe and was sitting on the front porch of the cabin, next to Mo'at and Eytukan, just taking everything in. It was pretty clear that she, being almost sober, was definitely in the minority, and as she watched some of the more superbly drunken examples weaving by she chuckled to herself.

"They'll regret it tomorrow," she said as one of the avatars (the tee-shirt he was wearing made it obvious he wasn't full Na'vi) tripped over his own tail and fell, laughing, onto the soft moss nearby.

"They may," Mo'at agreed, smiling, "but what else is youth for but to learn the lessons of life?"

"Point," Grace nodded. "Kids are kids are kids, no matter where they come from."

"And were we not all so once?" Mo'at pointed out. "Your children do well, Grace. They show a true willingness to share their joy with us."

"That may be," Grace said, "but I think quite a bit of that joy has to do with the booze you brought."

"What else is booze for?" Eytukan gave her a sideways glance. "It has always freed the spirit, that is its purpose."

"I...suppose," Grace said, thinking to herself that "freeing the spirit", while it might be what was happening here, was far from the only reason humans drank. Then again, there were a lot of things that might be hidden in the spirit, and freeing it didn't always mean having fun.

"Is it not so among _tawtute_?" Mo'at asked.

"It sometimes is," Grace nodded, "but there are also those who take things too far."

"Ah," Mo'at nodded gravely, "and sometimes the spirit which is freed is not so joyous. This can be true for us also, although it is rare."

"Your wisdom, as usual, humbles me," Grace smiled at her, "I guess we should be glad everyone here has a happy spirit to free."

"And some have more than that to let free," Eytukan chuckled, a sound Grace had not often heard from the usually-sober olo'eyktan.

He gestured with his chin toward a couple sneaking back into the gathering from the nearby woods, arms around each other affectionately (although it could also have been in order to hold each other up), and Grace was stunned to realize it was two of her own. She hadn't been aware of any inter-office romances going on. But then again, if it _was_ going on, she wouldn't expect to know about it, since there was, while not an extremely strict policy, certainly firm guidelines which spoke against it.

"Is this not a happy thing?" Mo'at asked, "you frown at the sight of them."

"Oh," Grace shook her head, then smiled at the Tsahik. "It is not a bad thing, but I worry it will be difficult for them. Our leaders do not always approve of romance in the workplace, they think it is too distracting, and for humans this is not, perhaps, the best place to contemplate starting a family."

"Foolish," Eytukan sighed, "Your leaders truly are foolish if they fear love between their children."

"Well, I won't be the one to say anything," Grace said, "and you're right, they are foolish, but I've said that before, for many reasons." She reached for the large platter of sweets in front of them and offered some to the other two. "On a lighter note, if that is who it looks like, I'm going to have a great time teasing her the next time I get her alone."

"Oh?" Mo'at asked as she picked up a sweet and placed it delicately into her mouth, "why is that?"

"Because Louise there," Grace gestured at the female avatar who was snuggled quite close and comfortable under her companion's arm, "swore off all men at least four years ago, saying she "would rather be boiled alive", and I quote, than to bother trying to understand and deal with males and their needs."

Eytukan looked over at Mo'at with an amused gleam in his eye, and Grace was stunned to notice the Tsahik's _tanhì _glowing like a young girl's.

"Clearly there is a story here," she raised an eyebrow.

"Let us just say that sometimes all it takes is the right male, when a woman has made such a declaration," Mo'at said shortly.

"I suppose," Grace nodded thoughtfully. She still wanted the story, but she wasn't going to press too hard for it. After all, she'd just gotten back in their good graces, the last thing she wanted to do was accidentally piss them off again.

* * *

Norm Spellman was confused. Not that he wasn't fully aware of his current situation, of course, but he wished he could remember just how it was that he had ended up twenty feet off the ground in the branches of a tree just on the edge of the meadow. He knew it had involved at least one girl and some alcohol and his mental image of Trudy scolding him if he flirted, but how he'd gotten from trying to politely decline the advances of an obviously tipsy Na'vi girl to perched on a tree branch was the hazy bit. That, and how on earth he was going to get down.

Admittedly, twenty feet was not, for his avatar body, all that far a drop. Heck, it wasn't even a far drop for a human, really, if you knew how to land right, but Norm had never been the most coordinated of men. He'd had a sudden growth spurt around age fourteen and never truly gotten used to his body the way he had been as a boy. The last thing he wanted to do was try to jump down and end up flat on his face!

He had to get down somehow though. If for no other reason than the fact that he couldn't very well leave his Avatar up in the tree when he unlinked. Without a mind to control it, it would no doubt go limp and drop out of the tree on its own, and who knows what he might break _that_ way!

"_If you truly want to hide from her you will need to go higher than this,_" he heard someone say from behind him, and he almost fell out of the tree anyway as he realized someone was standing on the next branch over, grinning at him.

"_What do you mean?_" Norm asked carefully.

"_Although why you hide from beautiful women puzzles me,_" the Na'vi said, sitting down on the branch and swinging his legs.

"_I..._" Norm hesitated, "_It is not that I fear her, but I fear the reaction of my...the one I would have as my mate if she hears I allowed such closeness by other females when she is not here,_" he explained.

"_Ah..._" the Na'vi nodded, "_I entirely understand. Women can be fearsome when they feel their affections are not properly appreciated. If she worries so about you straying, though, why isn't she here?_"

"_She does not dreamwalk,_" Norm explained, "_She has no body like this one for her to walk among the Na'vi with, and being thus unable to eat or drink with us, and only the size of a Na'vi child, she felt she would be out of place among the gathering._"

"_I...suppose I didn't think of that possibility. It's too bad, now I'm interested to meet this tawtute female. Perhaps you should convince her to visit with us also. Oh, and I forget my manners, I am Tseo'ong._"

"_I See you, Tseo'ong,_" Norm gestured politely, "_I am _Norm Spellman_, but please, just call me _Norm_, everyone does._"

"_I See you, Norrm,_" Tseo'ong smiled, "_If you come down from the tree I promise to keep you safe from marauding females._"

"_You must be a strong hunter to be able to do such a thing,_" Norm smiled as he carefully watched how the true Na'vi slid down from the branch, then followed suit as best he could.

"_Hunter? No,_" Tseo'ong laughed, "_I am no hunter, I am a mere weaver, but you do not need a hunter's skill in order to evade, only to find, and we who weave are nimble enough to escape the net if we wish._"

"_Yes, I remember, the Omatikaya are known for their skill at weaving, are they not?_" Norm smiled.

"_We are known for our weavings, yes,_" Tseo'ong nodded politely, "_perhaps you will have to come and see my work one day, but talk of weaving is dry without having the weaving itself to display. Tell me of this woman of yours, instead!_"

"Trudy?" Norm smiled gently, "_She is amazing, truly. She flies the tawsip which brings Grace and I here each day._"

"_She is tsamsiyu then? A warrior?_"

"_She is, which is why it is all the more surprising that she would choose to grant me her affection. I am hardly the warrior type. I am, perhaps you would say a thinker and a watcher more than one who takes action._"

"_Perhaps it is that difference which she craves in you, then_," Tseo'ong suggested.

"_Perhaps,_" Norm shrugged. "_She is a warrior, but more than that she is a _pilot_, one who flies. To her, flying is more important than any other thing in the world. To fly with her is to truly understand freedom._"

"_It is a shame, then, that she cannot walk among the Na'vi. I have often thought that your tawtute kunsip are strong, but not as graceful in flight as the ikran our hunters ride._"

Norm smiled at that. "_I will be sure not to mention that to her,_" he said, "_she is very proud of her _ship_, not to mention protective of every tiny bit of it, inside and out_."

"_Just like a hunter with her ikran then,_" Tseo'ong nodded. "_What does she look like?_"

"_She is small,_" Norm grinned, "_although she would not like me saying that. Perhaps I should say she is __**compact**__. Graceful and strong and full of fire... But none of this really gives you a picture. Come, I will draw her for you to show you._"

They headed back toward the house, to the spot where Norm had left his pencils and sketch pad. He _had_ been sketching scenes from the party before Grace told him to get off his ass and start mixing instead of sitting there like a wallflower. He figured having someone else with him would be excuse enough for her when he showed up there again.

* * *

As Louise and Taka reached the cabin, they suddenly realized they were being watched.

"Um, hi," Louise waved rather sheepishly at Grace, who just grinned wickedly at her.

"Hi Louise," Grace said, "I see you've had a fun night. Time for beddy-bys?"

"Yeah," Louise nodded, resisting the urge to hide her blazing face against Taka's shirt, "I figure I'm drunk enough I've been starting to drop off an' randomly disconnect so I'd better get myself somewhere safe to wake up."

"Sounds like a good idea," Grace nodded, and Louise couldn't tell if she was angry or if she just found the whole situation hilariously funny. "Taka, you'll make sure she gets to bed in one piece, won't you?"

"Of course," Taka nodded, and Louise could feel his tail tighten protectively around her middle.

Which only made her blush more, of course. She could swear every tiny spot all over her body was as bright as a small sun by now. No wonder the Na'vi called them "stars".

Without another word, Taka drew her inside and closed the door, then he turned to her, grinned, and kissed her again. "Poor _kawaii bakemono_," he laughed, "maybe I should call _her_ the _bakemono_ instead, and find a new nickname for you."

"No, I happen to like my nickname just fine, thank you," she giggled, "it fits me, I think." She felt her eyelids go heavy again and a wave of dizziness pass over her. "um, but I think I'd better get lying down."

"Right," he nodded, then without another word he picked her up into his arms. "Just in case," he whispered as he carried her toward the bedroom that had been made up for the girls to bed their avatars down in.

"Stay with me?" Louise asked as she arranged herself under the covers, "there's an extra bed, and we could shove them together."

"Extra bed?" Taka asked, looking confused.

"Well it's not like Cathy's going to be back here tonight," Louise smiled, "They're probably sleeping out somewhere sacred or wherever it is the Na'vi go when they get married or whatever."

"Ah, right," he nodded. "I don't need a separate bed really, though, that one should be fine for both of us."

"Okay," she said in a small, sleepy voice as she scootched over to make room for him. The last thing she felt in her avatar body was his arms wrapping around her as he spooned up behind her and an incredible sense of warmth before she was back to her sober, slightly cold and really lonely-feeling body back in the link pod.

She sat up with a groan as the servos hissed, lifting the lid of the pod away from her. Sometimes waking up after driving really, _really_ sucked, and tonight was definitely looking to be one of those sucky nights.

She waved a slightly bleary wave at the techs who were monitoring the still-occupied pods as she headed toward her (cold, lonely, empty) quarters. She hadn't gotten far, though, before she felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her from behind.

"You were supposed to wait for me, _baka_," Taka whispered in her ear as he cuddled her, "You aren't getting away from me that easy."

"We aren't drunk anymore," she pointed out, although she didn't make any move to get away from him.

"It makes no difference to me," he said, "does it make a difference to you?"

She sighed and shook her head, "I guess it doesn't," she admitted, "not that I ever thought I heard myself saying that. Just please try not to turn out to be a total jerk like every other man I've ever been with, would you?"

"You're obviously tired," he said, moving around to tuck her against his side again, "come on, let's get you to bed for real."

"Okay," she nodded, fumbling for the thumb-lock on her door and yawning cavernously at the thought of sleep. "Been a long day, I guess."

"It has," he agreed, rubbing her shoulder soothingly.

"Stay?" she asked pleadingly once the door closed behind them. She just couldn't face the thought of sleeping alone with the empty feeling all this had triggered.

"Did I say anything about going anywhere?" he shook his head, pushing her toward the dresser. "You get ready for bed, I won't watch."

"No? 'sokay if you do," she giggled slightly, relieved that he was going to stay, "I've never had issues with people who like to watch."

"And if I wanted to help?" he asked, his voice deepening and smoothing out in that way that always seemed to signal male arousal.

"I'd be glad of some help," she glanced over at him, "if you want. I'm pretty tired though, I don't know how long I can stay awake."

"That's alright, _bakemono_, all I plan to do right now is put you to bed, no kinky stuff."

"Yet?" she asked hopefully.

"Yet," he agreed, laughing, "now, arms up, let's get that sweatshirt off. Where do you keep your pajamas?"

"Third drawer from the top, on the left," she said, obediently lifting her arms like a small child and letting herself be pampered. "Nightgown though, not PJs, is more comfy."

"This one?" he lifted her soft blue sateen nighty out of the drawer.

"Sure," she nodded.

"Turn around for me," he instructed, and when she did so, he undid her bra and slipped it gently down her arms. "Any special spot for laundry?"

"Wherever," she yawned, "I can't be bothered to remember where I put the hamper this morning."

That made him laugh. "Far corner of the room it is, then," he said, tossing the shirt and bra away. "Arms up again," he said.

"But my pants are still on," she pointed out.

"Reducing my temptation," he kissed her cheek as he turned her to face him again, "they'll come off soon enough."

"Okay," she nodded and lifted her arms so he could slip the nightgown down over her head.

His hands traced the path of the hem down her skin, making her subtly shiver, until they reached the waist of her sweatpants. His thumbs hooked under them, sliding them slowly down to her ankles, at which point he started to chuckle.

"What?" she frowned.

"Forgot about your shoes," he laughed, standing again. "Hold on." He picked her up and carried her the half a foot over to her bed then set her down before kneeling in front of her and gently slipping her shoes off. "There," he said when he had removed her shoes and pants and thrown them into the corner with the rest of her clothes, "much better."

"What about you?" she asked as she slipped under the covers.

"Me?" he cocked his head at her, looking a little like a confused spaniel.

"Well you aren't sharing my bed with those sweaty things on," she wrinkled her nose at him, "and I don't think I have anything big enough to fit you, although a couple of my tee-shirts _might_ do it..."

"Oh," he laughed, "I'm fine in just boxers, don't worry about it. If that's okay, of course."

"Oh," she blushed a little, "yeah that's fine."

"Good," he said, quickly stripping off his own shirt, pants and shoes and throwing them with hers, "Good thing I'm not wearing embarrassing boxers today," he laughed as he slipped into bed behind her.

"Wouldn't care," she said sleepily, "I'd just tease you in the morning."

"Whatever you say, _bakemon-chan_," he tucked her against him, "whatever you say."

* * *

After Louise was asleep, Taka sighed and buried his nose in her hair. She smelled faintly sweaty but there was still the hint of her sweet shampoo hiding there for him to memorize. Poor lonely darling. He'd been trying to wriggle his way into her heart for over a year, although she'd been stubbornly oblivious, and now that he'd made this much progress, he wasn't going to let her backslide. He just hoped she didn't literally kick him out of bed in the morning when she "came to her senses" again...because he wasn't going anywhere, and she was just going to have to get used to it. His last thought as he closed his eyes was that Grace was probably going to yell at both of them for not doing video logs of their experiences at the party as soon as they unlinked, but there was no way he was going to worry about that now.

**

* * *

**

**XD did everyone else have as much fun with that as I did? Yeah, probably not, but still, it was tons of fun. Next chapter? Morning after! Woohoo! And possibly early morning funtiemz, depending on how Taka's feeling about things. Now for everyone's favourite section...**

**Vocab:**

**Na'vi:**

_**Kelutral**_** - Hometree  
**

_**sevin**_** - pretty**

_**ngaytxoa**_** - I'm sorry, literally "your forgiveness"**

_**tanhì**_** - star, but in this context, the small bioluminescent dots on a Na'vi or avatar's skin**

_**tawtute**_ **- "sky person", human**

_**olo'eyktan**_** - Clan leader  
**

_**Tsahik**_** - Interpreter of the will of Eywa, spiritual leader  
**

_**tawsip**_** - "Sky ship", from _taw_ - "sky" and the English loanword _sip_ for "ship"**

_**tsamsiyu**_** - warrior**

_**kunsip**_** - Gunship, English loanword**

_**ikran**_** - Mountain Banshee, big scary but somewhat tame flying mounts of Na'vi hunters  
**

**Japanese:**

_**kawaii**_** - cute**

_**bakemono**_** - monster/spirit**

_**baka**_** - dummy**

_**-chan**_** - affectionate suffex attached to the name of a child, used between girlfriends or by a guy to his girlfriend.**


	15. Chapter 14: The Morning After

**Yay hooray I actually got another chapter done and ready for you all! Hopefully the next one will be out in the next week or so as well, but we'll just have to see. Practicum is keeping me quite busy but I'll survive.**

**First, before you get to read the chapter, though, you're going to have to read a little piece I wrote about rites of passage. Why? Well, it isn't an issue in _THIS_ chapter, but as someone brought it up in a review, and it will be an issue soon enough, I figure I'd better explain my standpoint.**

**I promise I do my absolute best to write academic type stuff in a manner that is accessible to the general public XD**

Na'vi rites of passage

Thanks to a recent reviewer, I suddenly realized that I have done all of you a disservice and forgotten to give you the appropriate background assumptions from which I am working for my determination of the rites of passage to adulthood in Na'vi culture. This is, of course, only my interpretation, there is plenty of debate on this subject at learnnavi dot org, but having read through the Activist Survival Guide and the Avatar script, I was not able to find anything difinitive, and so had to make some assumptions.

Having some training in Anthropology myself, I'm fairly familiar with what constitutes a "Rite of Passage" and, more importantly, how rites of passage vary between different groups even within one clan. Generally there are more and more _physically difficult _rites of passage for those who wish to attain a higher status, such as warrior.

In any case, for the purposes of this story, please make the following assumptions along with me. There are two main rites of passage I will deal with: _Iknimaya_ and _Uniltaron_.

About _iknimaya_, Neytiri herself tells us "You will bond with your _ikran_ and then become _taronyu_, hunter." Therefore I interpret this to mean that _iknimaya_ is a rite undertaken only by those who will be hunters. Weavers, singers, and other craftspeople do not generally undertake the rigors and possible death involved with _iknimaya_.

_Uniltaron_, on the other hand, I interpret to be a general rite of passage into adulthood. This is harder to understand from the movie alone, as the scenes detailing Jake's _uniltaron_ were omitted from the final copy, but they are still in the script which is/was online. _Uniltaron_ is what Jake is talking about when he says "I just have to do this one last thing, the last stage of becoming a man, and then I can speak and they have to listen." It is spoken of as a "second birth" and the rite following which one takes one's place among the clan. "The Na'vi say everyone is born twice". This is actually a very telling statement. In many, _many_ human societies, the rite of passage into adulthood involves a "death" of the child and "rebirth" as an adult. _Uniltaron_, then, I interpret to be the rite EVERYONE undertakes in order to become an adult member of the tribe. As Neytiri says, it is only after _uniltaron_ that Jake can "make his bow from the wood of hometree and (more importantly) take a woman" If only those who have passed through _uniltaron_ may mate, and if _uniltaron_ was only for warriors, then either EVERY member of the tribe would be a warrior (unlikely, as a warrior class tends to be a rather elite class in any society. Anyone can fight if pressed, of course, but a trained warrior is _special_) or mating would be limited to those who were of that elite class, an equally unlikely situation.

As far as rites of passage to become a warrior, I don't believe we've actually seen or been told of any as yet, and that also makes a lot of sense, since these sort of rites are usually EXTREMELY well-protected by their individual groups and kept VERY private. It's actually unlikely that even Na'vi outside the warrior class know all of what is involved in the rites to become a warrior, and if they do not know, why would any warrior trust an _uniltìranyu_ enough to share such privledged information?

So, in short, for the purposes of this story _uniltaron_ and _iknimaya_ are separate rites of passage, neither one necessitating the other to come first or second, and _iknimaya_ is a specialized rite, pertaining only to the hunter class within the Na'vi society.

* * *

**And now that I've succeeded in boring everyone to tears, on with the story proper:

* * *

**

Brotherhood Chapter 14 - The Morning After

Louise awoke the next morning into a long and rather involved kiss. It was, she decided, a pretty damn nice way to wake up, all told. Even _with_ the lingering danger of morning breath. She stretched a little as she sat up in the bed and groaned. The bunks really weren't designed for sharing.

"What time is it?" she sleepily asked Taka as she rubbed her eyes.

"Probably earlier than you wanted to wake," Taka admitted, "but I thought I'd better get back to my own room before the halls get too full of people who would see me leaving here and report to Selfridge."

"Stupid policy," Louise grumbled, "yeah, it's okay, I should probably get up anyway, if I want to ambush Cathy for a chat before she links up again, I'd probably better get on it."

"Why would you need to ambush her?" Taka gave her a confused look.

"Taka, you really weren't paying attention to what was going on last night, were you?" Louise grinned, "Cathy disappeared, along with a certain Na'vi young man who she had admitted to us girls earlier in the day that she was very close with. I'm guessing our dear colleague is now officially _muntxa_." Louise shook her head, "I want to congratulate her as well as reassure her that she has my support. It's a girl thing," she laughed.

"Ah, a girl thing," Taka nodded, "well then, by all means, get on that. And tell her congratulations from me, too." He'd walked over to the pile of clothing and was picking up his slightly unappealing clothes with a look of distaste.

"Sorry I don't have anything you could wear instead," Louise came over and hugged him briefly. _Before_ he put the nasty stuff on.

"I'll live," he shrugged, smiling at her affectionate gesture. "My room's only one hallway over, after all."

"Alright," she smiled, "I'll see you back at the cabin, then."

"I'll see you at the cabin," he agreed, quickly slipping his clothes on and checking both ways down the hallway before casually walking out as though he'd just dropped in to talk to her a minute ago, rather than having spent the whole night with her.

Glancing at the clock, Louise decided she had time for a very quick shower before she went to Cathy's room, which was only two doors down from her own, after all.

* * *

Cleaned, dried and dressed, Louise hid her grin as she leaned on the call button outside Cathy's room.

After a minute or so, a very bleary-eyed face peered through the open door. "What do you want?" Cathy grumbled, "I'm trying to sleep."

"I wanted to talk about boys," Louise smiled, "can I come in?"

Cathy hesitated, but she clearly didn't want to have this conversation out in the hallway. "Fine," she said, moving away from the door so Louise could enter, then closing the door behind her.

"So, what's it like being a married woman?" Louise asked as she settled herself on Cathy's bed.

"Well I don't know much about it yet," Cathy laughed a little, sitting next to her, "if you'd let me get enough rest to be coherent in link I'd be able to tell you more later."

Louise stuck her tongue out. "no, no, I want details," she grinned, "what's braid-sex like?"

"_Tìmuntxa_," Cathy glared at her, "at least use the proper term, would you?" Then her expression softened. "It was...wonderful. Indescribable. The most beautiful thing I've ever experienced in my life, by far."

"You're lucky I'm so happy for you or I'd throw up," Louise teased. "seriously though, I'm glad you finally got shacked up with your guy. You've been so...not yourself for the last three years. I wish we could throw you a proper reception here or something, but I don't plan on getting you in trouble." She patted Cathy's shoulder. "Oh and before I forget, Taka said to say congrats too."

"Taka knows?" Cathy looked a little puzzled, "how did he find out?"

"Oh," Louise hesitated, "I might've...kinda...mentioned it this morning. He won't say anything either," she added quickly.

"Since when are you on casual conversation terms with Taka Nakami?" Cathy raised an eyebrow.

"Um..." Louise's face was, she was sure, beginning to colour. "Well, see, there was a lot of booze, and I was looking for you but you were already gone getting your blue groove on, and then he was suddenly there, and then he was suddenly kissing me...which I didn't mind at all, by the way..."

Both of Cathy's eyebrows were now solidly on their way toward trying to hide in her hairline. "You made out with him?" she asked, "in avatar form, even?"

"We were drunk, okay," Louise pointed out. "And okay yeah we did kinda make out, but it didn't go anywhere close to as far as what you did yourself last night."

"One time drunken thing?" Cathy asked, carefully watching Louise's face.

"No..." Louise shook her head, thinking of how it had felt to fall asleep in his arms, "no, I don't think it will be."

"So exactly how far _did_ things go between you?"

"Well, he saw my tits," Louise giggled slightly. "Might've kissed them, too..."

"Geez, I don't need that level of detail!" Cathy blushed.

"Probably would've gone further than that, too," Louise admitted, "but then the weirdest thing happened."

"You started feeling really horrible?" Cathy asked, suspecting where this was going. She'd experienced this herself, after all.

Louise blinked at her. "Is that _normal_?" she asked, stunned, "That makes no sense at all! I mean, I started _crying_ for god's sake! Totally killed the mood!"

"It's a biological imperative," Cathy nodded, "or I think that's the terminology anyway. Your body knew something was missing, it wanted _tsahaylu_. It's kinda like...you know that "empty, need to be filled" feeling you sometimes get when you're really aroused? It's like that but way, way stronger. Confused the heck out of me the first time it happened but Tìyana _sa'nok_ explained that it happens to all Na'vi females. It's a pretty effective deterrent against sex before _tìmuntxa_."

"So you're saying making out is fine as long as it doesn't go too far?" Louise asked carefully.

"You'll learn the limits of safety quick enough," Cathy nodded, then she grinned, "if it wasn't just a one-time drunken thing after all."

"Right," Louise nodded, looking a little sour-faced. "Well that sucks. I mean, I was kinda curious about sex in avatar form, but if I can't get a good orgasm without linking for life then I don't think I'm quite ready. Have to take time to prepare myself for the all the baggage."

"You really _must_ have been impressed by something he said or did," Cathy said, "weren't you just saying yesterday that you wanted to turn to the love that dare not speak its name, you were so sick of men?"

"Well, yeah, I might've joked about that," Louise shook her head, "but I wasn't _that_ far gone. And he's cute."

"If you say so," Cathy yawned, "mine's cuter, though. Now out you get, I really have to try to get at least a little sleep. I didn't hit the bed until like an hour ago."

"Up all night?" Louise giggled.

"No," Cathy shook her head, "dreaming." She smiled softly, "You'll understand when it's your turn."

"Hey now, don't go getting me all married and shit after only one date," Louise made a face at her. "Fine, I'll let you sleep. Seeya out there later." With a final wave over her shoulder she left, and the door slid closed behind her.

* * *

Tom groaned as he woke with a small pinpoint headache right between his eyes. Well, technically it was his avatar that woke with the headache, but he was in no mood to parse such minuscule distinctions at the moment. He rolled over in his _nivi_ and covered his eyes again.

"_I wondered if you would wake at all,_" he heard Ninat's voice above him, "_Come, you and I should help Sa'nok, she prepares treats for Ka'tsi tsmuke when she wakes. Which may be soon, if you have now woken. Or perhaps not. Likely she is tired,_" Ninat giggled.

"_Quite possibly_," Tom nodded, flushing slightly. He rolled over slowly and sat up, the slight sway of the _nivi_ making him ever-so-faintly nauseous. "_Are you not feeling the aftereffects from last night?_" he asked, a little jealously.

"_Not any longer,_" she smiled, "_Come. If you follow me down to where Sa'nok is, I will give you something that will make you feel better._"

"_But only if I come down, am I right?_" Tom laughed faintly as he hauled himself up onto the branch. He took a moment or two to gain his balance, then headed down. Ninat, of course, was already at least two branches ahead of him.

By the time he made it to the ground he was already feeling a little better, the action of running and balancing having gotten his sluggish blood flowing.

"_You are not as slow as I thought you would be,_" Ninat grinned, "_Come! Today is a day of quiet celebration...or it will be when Antsu and Ka'tsi return._"

"_In that case I'd better hurry,_" Tom agreed, smiling back at her and letting her all but drag him to the singers' area.

"_It is a fine morning, Tom,_" Tìyana smiled gently at him as she handed him a cup of something that smelled faintly like lemon tea.

"_It is a fine morning indeed,_" Tom agreed, accepting the tea gratefully and sipping at it as he sat in what was becoming his usual spot. He immediately felt the effects as the headache between his eyes eased, and he felt more stable again, no longer with that hint of dizziness. Once he had drunk the cup down, he returned it to Tìyana and offered his services for whatever needed to be done that morning. He had quickly learned that as an apprentice singer, he was not only expected to study, but also to do whatever chores were asked of him without complaint. He didn't mind, though. After all, every little thing he did was a small bit of information on culture and how the Na'vi interacted with each other and their world.

* * *

It was another hour before Cathy woke and linked up and woke again. She stretched languidly, feeling the warmth of the morning light on her skin and the warmth of her mate's arms around her. She smiled and opened her eyes to see him still sleeping, so she nuzzled against him and kissed his neck.

"_Time to wake, Antsu,_" she said, "_It's long past dawn, and people are going to start wondering where we are._"

"_Noone will wonder,_" he said sleepily, pulling her in closer, "_and I've been awake for a while just waiting for you. Did you manage to get a little rest?_"

"_I did,_" she smiled.

"_Good,_" he said, tilting her face up to kiss her.

She giggled. "_This isn't getting us back home any sooner,_" she pointed out as he worked his fingers through her hair.

"_And why do we need to go anywhere?_" he shook his head, "_What if I want to stay here with you for the next week or so?_"

He gently initiated _tsahaylu_, and she gasped as the depth of his love for her washed over her again.

"_But you're hungry,_" he smiled, "_and I suppose you are right as well, people will begin to wonder and comment if we do not show up before noon. Still, we have a little time..._"

She giggled and kissed him. "_We do have just a little time,_" she agreed, pushing him over so that she was able to lie sprawling on top of him and wriggle her way down into a full joining again, "_It would be a shame not to take full advantage of every second._"

* * *

By the time the couple finally made it back to _Kelutral_, Jake and Neytiri were also sitting with the singers. Neytiri had been invited to the small celebratory breakfast because she, Ninat and Antsu (as well as her sister, Sylwanin) had always been close, and Jake was there because, as fellow _uniltìranyu_, he and Tom were representatives of Cathy's "clan" and family. And because wherever Neytiri went he followed, pretty much.

"Morning!" Jake waved as Cathy and Antsu walked toward them hand in hand.

"Morning," Cathy smiled at the group, who had left the couple a place of honour around the low table, in between Kxawn'e and Tìyana.

"_You must be hungry,_" Tìyana grinned as the two of them sat down, "_Do not fear to offend us by eating your fill. All here have eaten already, as is proper._"

Initially, Cathy felt a little odd being one of only two people eating while everyone else watched them, but then the flavour of the food took over, as well as what seemed to be a ravenous hunger. Then again, she admitted to herself as she glanced over at Antsu, they had been rather...active the night before, and this morning as well. Being hungry was hardly a surprising thing.

"_Did you dream well?_" Kxawn'e asked his son in between bites of food and Antsu nodded, his tail wrapping around Cathy's waist affectionately.

"_Our dreams were good,_" he confirmed, smiling as Cathy leaned against him, "_Eywa has blessed our mating._"

Cathy saw that both Jake and Tom looked confused at that, but she just smiled privately to herself. She had decided this was one tidbit of information she wasn't going to share with any of "her clan" unless it became absolutely necessary. Most of them wouldn't entirely understand anyway, although some of the longer-serving avatars might, but mostly she had made the decision because for most of them it would never be an issue. Although given the way Ninat was acting around Tom...

"So what's next?" Jake spoke up then, "I mean, do you have anything like a honeymoon or that kind of thing?"

"What is "honee-moon" Jhake?" Neytiri asked, "I have not heard this before."

"Well, when we get married, the new couple usually takes a little time just to themselves, usually they go on a trip somewhere," Jake explained, "Just the two of them, to, kinda, I dunno, just enjoy being together and stuff."

"We have this," Antsu shook his head, "Two hands of days. For a new pair to know each other deeply."

"That short?" Cathy giggled, "if it were a true "honeymoon" in the traditional sense for Earth, it would be three times as long."

"Six hands of days?" Antsu sighed blissfully at the thought, "that would be good, six hands of days with only you."

Cathy touched his cheek. "You could always say you are simply honouring the rites of my people," she grinned.

"_Perhaps just a few extra days,_" Antsu placed his hand over hers, "_Noone will need us that desperately._"

"_What is next,_" Kxawn'e explained, "_is that Antsu must bring Ka'tsi before the Tsahik and Olo'eyktan and announce her as his mate formally. Especially in this case, because Ka'tsi will need to be brought into the clan._"

"_Is it a common thing, then? For Na'vi to mate outside their own clan?_" Tom asked.

"_I would not say common, but it does happen with some amount of regularity,_" Kxawn'e nodded, "_It helps to keep the clan fresh, to bring in new thoughts and ideas._"

"_And sometimes it just happens that the one Eywa has made to fit against you is not of the clan you were born into,_" Tìyana added with a soft smile for her mate. "_Although sometimes his lack of romance makes me wonder._"

"_You were born into another clan, Tìyana sa'nok?_" Tom guessed.

"_You See well, Txom,_" Tìyana smiled, "_yes, I was born into one of the nearby clans, and for some reason I'm still not quite sure of, this rather foolish young Omatikaya man who visited us on trade missions did many strange things to attract my attention. Somehow he managed to convince me home simply would not be the same without his presence._"

Kxawn'e grinned, looking proud of himself. "_You noticed me because I was making every effort to make sure you did so,_" he laughed, "_but today is for the newly mated, not old news like us._"

"_You are right,_" she nodded, glancing at the couple, who both had finished eating finally. "_Come, it is time now for you to speak to the Tsahik._"

Cathy looked a little queasy, so Antsu wrapped his arm around her. "_It is only a formality,_" he said, "_I am sure Mo'at will not be surprised by our mating. If she or Eytukan had objections they would have made them before now._"

"_It is not so much that I'm worried..._" Cathy insisted.

"_But you fear not all Omatikaya will be as welcoming,_" Neytiri nodded. "_Do not fear, I will ensure that those who speak against you know that you have as much right to a place here as any who are mated into the tribe, and that I, for one, fully support you._"  
_  
"Thank you,_" Cathy bowed her head formally, "_To have your support is an honour._"

Neytiri waved her off. "_Your actions three years ago are more than enough for you to win your place among us._"

Antsu stood and reached down a hand to help Cathy to her feet as well. "_We will go now,_" he said, "_The sooner this is done, the sooner we can begin preparing for our trip of bonding._"

That made Cathy laugh. "_You are right,_" she agreed, "_Alright, I will gather my bravery to face the tribe._"

"_I will come with you to support your case,_" Neytiri smiled at Cathy, "_and Jhake and Txom should come as well._"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Jake nodded.

* * *

They were most of the way in toward the center of _Kelutral_ when Tsu'tey approached them, a deep frown on his face.

"_I See you, Antsu,_" he said, "_and I see that you have finally mated with the uniltìranyu female. That is disappointing. I had thought you would come to your senses before going this far._"

Cathy bit her lip and moved closer to Antsu's side, and his hand reached out to take hers, gripping firmly.

"_There is no need to come to my senses, as I never became unaware of what is right here, or what I wanted,_" Antsu frowned slightly, "_and in any case, Eywa has blessed our mating. Who are you to frown on that which the great mother herself smiles upon?_"

"_You would have us accept a tawtute woman as one of the clan,_" Tsu'tey's frown deepened, "_but you forget; tawtute are all liars who work only for their own benefit. In bringing her among the Omatikaya you only give her that much more opportunity to betray all of us to our enemies._"

"_She would never betray us,_" Antsu insisted, his eyes blazing, "_Ka'tsi almost died defending the children of our village three years ago, or had you forgotten that in your anger at the death of she who was friend to both of us?_"

"_You claim this dreamwalker female defended the children, but how do you truly know? There were no witnesses except the very young, and in the confusion and fear, how are we to know they saw truly, or understood what they saw?_" Tsu'tey growled.

Jake almost made a move to step forward, but Tom grabbed his brother's arm to stop him, and shook his head. "It's not our place," he said quietly, "be still, you don't want to make this worse."

"_Tsu'tey te Rongloa Ateyitan, you have long been my friend,_" Antsu bared his teeth, stepping between Tsu'tey and Cathy protectively, "_but if you threaten my mate I __**will**__ fight you. I probably won't win, but I __**will**__ fight._"

"_Do you not trust __**my**__ eyes then, Tsu'tey?_" Neytiri glared at him, "_Or have you forgotten that I was at the school that day? I saw Ka'tsi defend the children, and I saw, also, what was done to her. I saw it, but if you do not trust my eyes, then you should at least trust your own._" She stepped closer to Cathy and with a brief apologetic look, undid the decorative armlet covering Cathy's scar.

Tsu'tey's frown deepened, but he couldn't deny the evidence before him. "How is it you still have your arm?" he asked, switching to English, presumably in a show of contrition.

"Our healers are very skilled," Cathy said simply, "now, if you don't mind, I...don't like people seeing this. It brings up too much pain." Her hand went up to cover the scar protectively.

Neytiri gently replaced the armlet. "_I am sorry for that,_" she said, "_but sometimes such displays are necessary_."

"_You are forgiven,_" Cathy smiled at her, "_and I also forgive Tsu'tey for his suspicion. He has had little reason to trust my people._" She turned her smile toward the future Olo'eyktan.

"_I raise no further objections,_" Tsu'tey said, although his tail-tip showed he was still somewhat agitated, "_The dreamwalker Ka'tsi has clearly showed her worth to the Omatikaya_."

"_Thank you,_" Antsu nodded, although he continued to stay between Tsu'tey and Cathy as they walked past, "_We will go now to speak with Tsahik and hear her words on this, and perhaps you and I may speak later, when it is only the two of us._"

Tsu'tey gestured politely and watched them go, his tail still twitching just the littlest bit.

* * *

The whispers that echoed around _Kelutral_ as their small party approached the place where Mo'at and Eytukan were sitting were mostly of the congratulatory variety, which relieved Cathy's mind somewhat. Of course there were those who spoke out, but the parents of the children who she had taught all seemed to have told their friends and relatives what she had done, so the only mutterings tended to be from the young warriors, who were, of course, much more inclined to distrust those who were, for the most part, enemies of the tribe.

What really surprised Cathy was that Grace was sitting with Mo'at when they reached her, and the two women were deep in discussion about...something. Suddenly Cathy was filled with worry. What if Grace reported her? It would be easy enough for Selfridge or Quaritch to decide she was "fraternizing" with the enemy and have her put in the brig, making it impossible for her to link up again, and if they did that...well, if they did that she'd rather be dead, quite frankly.

"_I See you, Ka'tsisiton,_" Mo'at smiled at her, "_It seems the time has come for you to be brought before us by your mate. We have been discussing your case already with toktor Grace._" She caught sight of the increasingly worried look on Cathy's face and smiled reassuringly. "_Do not fear,_" she added, "_you are already assured of a place among us, and have been since you were returned to us and it became clear that this mating was an inevitability._"

"You're a lucky woman, Cathy," Grace said, smiling a little ironically, "although you're making a headache for me. I have to figure out some way to explain your avatar's absence. We are trying to come up with some project that it makes sense for the Omatikaya to have allowed you to undertake here, and the best that we could come up with was that you should go along with the traders on their next trip to the nearby clans."

Cathy almost swooned with relief. "I can deal with that," she nodded, "and it makes lots of sense to me. I mean, they'll start to get suspicious if too many of us are suddenly being brought into the clan to learn, and I should have done my learning already, right?"

"Right," Grace nodded.

"_You are a smart woman,_" Eytukan nodded, "_You will be an asset to us, and a good match to young Antsu._"

"_You honour me too much, Olo'eyktan,_" Cathy blushed. "_I hope to be worthy of your trust and praise._"

"_We will treat this as your true test of belonging to the Omatikaya,_" Mo'at told her, "_To see that you can be a good representation of both us and your own...home clan, as it were._"

"_We both greatly appreciate the thought you have put to our situation,_" Antsu nodded to them, "_we...will be ready when the time comes for the next trip. In the meantime, perhaps we should leave you to your discussions and not take up more of your valuable time._"

"_Or in other words, you would like to head out for your time of bonding,_" Mo'at laughed gently, "_Go. You are of no use to us until you are not so distracted by the sheer newness of your tsahaylu._"

Cathy and Antsu looked at each other, blushing, then turned back and bowed quickly to the leaders before they dashed off, not wanting to be interrupted by anything which might come up and further delay their trip.

* * *

That afternoon Tom sought out Grace. He wanted to talk to her about Jake's idea. He still didn't like that Jake wouldn't take credit for it, but he understood his twin's reluctance. Grace was what their father would've called a "sptifire". In a lot of ways, she reminded Tom of their mother. Terrifying if you got on the wrong side of her, and without much patience for stupidity. Lately, though, he'd had a chance to see her softer side as well, and that was what truly reminded him of their mother. She certainly wasn't all bark and no bite, but he was confident her "bites" would only come in defense of those she regarded as "her children" be they human, avatar or Na'vi.

"What's up, Tom?" Grace asked as he sat down next to her where she was examining some root systems just outside _Kelutral_.

"I have a theory to discuss with you," Tom said. "It isn't my idea, but having had it suggested to me it makes a lot of sense, so I promised I would bring it to you and see what you think, it being much more in your field than mine."

"Whose idea is it?" Grace frowned, "and why can't they come to me themselves?"

"How about I tell you the theory first, and you can decide if it's totally off-the-wall before I tell you who came up with it," Tom shook his head. "The one who suggested it to me is wary of your not taking it seriously if you knew they came up with it."

Grace rolled her eyes. "Fine then, what is this mysterious theory?"

"Basically, the theory is that unobtanium is intricately linked to the signal transduction you're seeing between the trees; that the reason the deposit under _Kelutral_ is so large is not by chance, but because the size of the deposit is a necessity for this kind of tree to be able to flourish and grow, something like fertilizers or special soil nutrients back home on Earth."

Grace just stared at him, surprise clear in her face. "You're right," she said finally, "it's a very viable theory. It would also help explain the incredible speed of signal transduction I've been noticing. I'm going to have to see if I can requisition a small amount of unobtanium for the test garden to see if the theory pans out." She frowned slightly, "Now give. Who came up with this idea and was too scared to come to me about it?"

"Jake," Tom grinned, watching for the look of stunned shock on her face. He wasn't disappointed either. "He may not be scientifically trained, but don't forget, we _are_ twins. We might use our brains for different things, but that doesn't mean either one of us didn't start out with the same potential. He's probably just as smart as I am, only he usually uses it for other things."

"He hides it well," Grace laughed. "You'd never know."

"I get the impression hiding your intelligence is a good thing in the military, especially when you aren't in a position of authority," Tom admitted. "Besides which, it's not like Jake couldn't _do_ science back when we were in high school, it's just that it bored him. If you ever need a strategist, though..." Tom laughed, "We used to play Risk when we were kids. After a while, nobody in our family would play with him anymore, mostly because playing with him was asking to have your ass handed to you very expertly on a silver platter, almost without you even realizing how he'd managed it."

"I'll keep that in mind," Grace nodded, her expression showing some of her worry, "We might need to use that strategic mind sooner than I'd like, if things keep going on the way they are."

"I know," Tom sighed. "I definitely know. I've been thinking about something else, as well. I'd like to get Cathy moved somewhere safer. Just in case the shit hits the fan about today's development. Not that I plan to say anything, or that anyone else in the AVTR program is likely to say anything either, but it's likely going to be hard to hide what's going on with her entirely."

"You're right," Grace nodded, "I'll think about that and what we can do to keep her real body safe. If anything happened to her that kept her from linking up it would be very disruptive, and I _know_ if Selfridge and co. find out she's mated to one of the "blue monkeys" she'll definitely be disciplined and quite possibly locked in the brig for a while as well. Maybe one of the outlying mobile labs could be brought back into service, but I'll need to find a reason for it, and she can't go out there alone."

"Of course," Tom nodded. "Let me know when you've come up with something."

"I will," Grace nodded. "You might want to say something to her tonight when you unlink. She's probably already gone by now."

"Willdo," Tom grinned.

* * *

**And now...**

**Vocab:**  
_**muntxa**_** - mated**  
_**tìmuntxa**_ **- mating/marriage among the Na'vi**  
_**tsahaylu**_** - the bond created when a Na'vi connects their queue to that of an animal or when a mated pair connect their queues to each other**  
_**sa'nok**_** - mother**  
_**nivi**_** - hammock**  
_**tsmuke**_** - sister**  
_**Kelutral**_** - Hometree**  
_**uniltìranyu**_** - dreamwalker/avatar**  
_**Tsahik**_** - Spiritual leader, interpreter of the will of Eywa**  
_**tawtute**_** - sky person/human**  
_**Olo'eyktan**_** - Clan leader (male)**


	16. Chapter 15: Moments in Time

**I live! My apologies to everyone for this taking so very long, but I was very occupied with my practicum which, paired with a daily paper route, left me little time for anything but eating and sleeping. I still _thought_ about what was going to be happening in the story, but I simply didn't have anything close to the time needed to actually write.**

**I will try to keep up a quicker update schedule now, although I'm still waiting to get work so once I'm gainfully employed things might slow down again for a bit. But then again, you never know. Everyone please keep their fingers crossed for me, won't you? Love you all!  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 15 - Moments in Time

A couple of days after the party, when Norm was on his own at the forest house (Grace having gone off somewhere to get samples of...something, he wasn't sure what) he decided it was about time he gave Trudy a proper tour of the new installation. He went and laid down to unlink, then went on a little Trudy-hunt. Usually around this time of day she was either tinkering with her baby or stretched out in the sun somewhere basking after lunch, and today, as it turned out, it was the second option, not the first.

"You look relaxed," he said, sprawling down next to her.

"You're in my light," she rolled over to half-heartedly glare at him.

"I was only in your light for a second," he laughed, "you're like a cat, seriously, basking in sunbeams all the time."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," she grinned at him, "I'm not just a pussy-cat, you know."

"No, of course not," he shook his head, "you're a dangerous jaguar, I know, I know."

"And you'd better not forget it," she nodded. "What're you doing up? I thought you said you were gonna be busy all day today?"

"Grace headed out and she's probably going to be gone most of the day, I figured maybe you wanted a tour of the new house," Norm shrugged, trying to be nonchalant.

"Hey! Yeah I could go for that," Trudy smiled, "I never did see it all done inside, been just picking up and dropping off lately."

"I noticed," Norm agreed, "I'll meet you down there, okay? And if you're not there in half an hour I'm coming back out to build a tent over you and block your sunbeam permanently."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll be there," she said, "and a tent? Really? You think I wouldn't just slice through it in three seconds flat? You really wanna block the sun you better be ready for some heavy-duty construction, boy. We're talkin' concrete, not cloth."

Norm just laughed as he headed back to the pod to link up.

* * *

Back at the forest house it wasn't more than ten minutes later that Norm heard the rotors of Trudy's Sampson approaching. He peeked out the door and grinned as he watched her touch down, then waved at her. There was no point trying to talk until she was completely shut down, but he headed over toward the Sampson as its rotors slowed.

"Need a hand?" he asked.

"Sure," she nodded, "you wanna get the covers on? If I'm gonna be here for a bit I don't wanna start up only to find crud in the engines."

"Right," he nodded. Being taller in this form was a definite help. Once he'd rummaged through the storage in the back and found the engine covers, all he had to do was walk over to the engines and reach up, rather than climbing up the side of the bird.

Trudy laughed. "I guess that big blue body's good for something anyway," she teased as she hopped down from the cockpit.

"Hey! This body happens to have quite a few uses," Norm made a face at her, and she laughed. "Come on, I wanna show you the place!" he said, reaching over toward her.

"Oh no you don't," she glared at him, "you pick me up and carry me without my express permission and you're gonna regret it, blue."

He held up his hands, professing innocence. "I know better," he shook his head, "I don't want to wake up missing anything vital, after all."

"Oh, I'd never get rid of _that_," she grinned wickedly at him, "break a leg or two maybe, but why deprive myself as well?" She laughed even harder when his face started glowing. "Oh! So _that's_ how you blush in the blue body! I wondered, you know."

"Yeah," Norm said sheepishly. "When Na'vi blush it makes their spots glow."

"Yet another helpful fact," she grinned.

"So anyway," Norm tried to change the topic, "welcome to the forest house!"

"Seriously? That's what it's called? The forest house? You science zoidies have no imagination when it comes to names," Trudy rolled her eyes.

"Well, anyway," Norm shrugged, "it works." He opened the door for her and led her inside, explaining each station and room as they went.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the forest house, someone was moving quietly and slowly into the clearing. He carefully examined the parked _kunsìp_, but as it was empty, he was not too concerned.

Tseo'ong had seen _toktor_ Grace leave the house earlier, and had thought he might have a chance to speak more with Norrm, who he had met at the party, without an interruption. With the _kunsìp_ parked nearby though, he wondered if perhaps this was not the best time. His ears twitched as he neared the house, listening. He only heard two voices, one that he recognized as Norrm, and the other a female. Perhaps this was the _yawnetu_ Norrm had spoken of, the _tawtute_ female his heart cradled. Tseo'ong hoped it was so. He was glad he had picked this time, although, of course, he did not want to interrupt their private time. He had brought with him gifts for Norrm, though, one of which was meant for...what was her name again? Trru'ti? that didn't sound quite right. No, it had that strange blurry "t" sound _Ìnglisi_ seemed to favour... Trru'di. Yes, that was it, Trru'di.

He peered in a window, saw that the two were merely talking, and did not appear to be doing anything...private, so he walked loudly along the porch to make his presence known politely.

It didn't take long before the door opened and Norrm peered out at him. The look of concern evaporated into a smile of greeting, and Norrm gestured politely to him. "_Oel ngatì kameie, Tseo'ong_," he said, "_please come in and join us._"

"_You are very generous to offer, I don't want to intrude,_" Tseo'ong smiled, although he did walk toward the door.

"_Not at all. You are always welcome, of course,_" Norrm shook his head, "_Besides, we've already finished our little tour,_" he smiled down at Trru'di, who tugged on his tail.

"Norm, who is this?" she asked, frowning at him.

"Oh! Sorry, I forgot to introduce you. Trudy, this is Tseo'ong, he's one of the Omatikaya weavers. Tseo'ong, this is Trudy."

"_Oel ngatì kameie_, Trru'di." Tseo'ong smiled down at her. "Your pardon I beg my _Ìnglisi_ lacks much."

"Naw, 'sokay," Trru'di shrugged, "It's probably better'n my Na'vi. _Oe nati kameie, Seo'ong._"

He could tell she was trying, at least, although her pronunciation was almost as bad as Jhakesuuly's had been at first.

Norrm smiled indulgently at her. "You've been listening in on my lessons with Jake, haven't you?"

"Possibly," she raised an eyebrow at him, "but how do you know I wasn't learning it before you came?"

"Well, I guess I hadn't thought of that," he admitted.

She just rolled her eyes.

"It good you here are," Tseo'ong smiled at Trru'di, "I brought gift for Norrm and also for you. I helped safe keep him from prowling girls as you warned, and he told me of you."

"Ah," she nodded, and he was intrigued by the way her skin changed colour, her cheeks becoming pinker. "I should say, um, _irayo_ for that, right?" she looked up to Norrm.

"_Irayo_ indeed," he agreed, "and please do come in. _I didn't expect you or I would've cleaned up a bit more in here..._"

"_Is it messy?_" Tseo'ong looked around as he stepped inside. "_It does not seem especially so to me. It is a novel experience, being inside a house of the sky people._"

"_Well please consider yourself welcome whenever you wish to come by_," Norm smiled at him.

"And I'll work on my Na'vi so the next time I'll be able to say more than a couple words," Trru'di laughed as she pulled herself up into one of the chairs.

"I am anticipation of such day," Tseo'ong smiled at her. "I hope your arm is my gift size. I make weaving for the size of a child but maybe your arm is not a child." He frowned slightly, knowing he had stumbled over the words. Perhaps he would have to ask one of the Omatikaya whose _Ìnglisi_ was more advanced for some pointers. Perhaps if he showed her the gift she would understand. He reached into the pouch he usually carried at his hip and pulled out the bands he'd made. The one he had made for Norrm featured a random design which brought to mind the _atokirina_ since Norrm's innocent nature reminded him of the sacred seeds. For Trru'di, whom he had not met but only been told of, he had guessed that _nantang_ would be more appropriate, and now that he had met her he knew he had not been mistaken. "For you this was made," he said, "_although perhaps it would be more appropriate if you were to put it on her, friend,_" he looked at Norrm, "_I would not want to seem to be touching your yawnetu inappropriately, and it is meant to go on her upper arm, which is awfully close to...more sensitive areas your sky people females seem to be more graced with than ours._"

"What was all that?" Truu'di looked over at Norrm with some confusion in her eyes.

"Um...I'll tell you later," he blushed, "basically he'd rather I put it on for you, since we're kinda an item and stuff."

"Ah," she nodded, "well, put it on then! It's really intricate, I'm impressed. I know some folks who'd be majorly jealous to find out I have such a well-done piece of native jewelry."

"Right," Norrm nodded, and Tseo'ong politely glanced away as he tied the band around his _yawnetu_'s arm.

There was a gentleness in Norrm's eyes that spoke well of their feelings for one another, though. He saw that much before he looked away, and he considered that he ought to include the pair in his prayers to Eywa this evening. It never hurt to have another voice in support, and likely Norrm did not yet know how to properly pray. It was not something generally taught to _uniltìranyu_, after all.

* * *

Later on that evening, after everyone else was in bed asleep, Trudy lay in her bunk, running her fingers over the weaving of her new decoration. She wouldn't be able to wear it on base, at least, not visibly. It was far too valuable, and there were rules about who could "appropriate" native artifacts. She was in no way high enough up the food chain to have such a thing, and she wasn't about to answer questions about where she'd gotten it. She knew well enough that she was on somewhat shaky ground. Her job ferrying around science types wasn't supposed to be a reward, after all. Just because she came to consider it one, didn't mean it had started out that way. Just because she wasn't a fucking bloodthirsty dick-for-brains grunt...

She shook her head and rolled over to face the wall. Too many God-damned secrets and lies and she was so fucking sick of them, but it wasn't like she could just stop. Even here it wasn't safe. Nope, not safe by a long shot. She wondered if she'd ever be able to tell anybody. Fat chance of that. Not while Quaritch was in town, that was for damned sure. He'd been to places where what she was hiding would have meant immediate imprisonment, and she didn't think it too damned likely he'd have forgotten that distrust just because she happened to be under his command at the moment. She didn't relish the idea of spending time in the brig anytime in the next millennium, and that's just where he'd send her if he found out.

At least she had Norm. Norm and Grace and even Jake, although lately he was spending so much time in link it was almost like he wasn't here at all. Being up here among the clouds with the science team was like the greatest reward she'd never expected. Especially Norm. She smiled to herself. If anyone could guess the main part of her secret Norm would be the man to do it. She'd seen him looking at her baby and frowning in thought a time or two, and she wondered if he was starting to put the pieces together in that remarkable brain of his. She wouldn't give him any hints, of course, but there was always the chance he'd bring it up, and, she'd decided today, if he did bring it up she wouldn't lie about it or hide it from him. He deserved the truth, if he managed to figure it out enough on his own to ask her.

She closed her eyes and tugged the blanket closer up around her shoulders. Time to get some sleep. It would be a busy enough day again tomorrow, no use stewing about stupid stuff she couldn't do anything about and ending up tired, after all. She had better uses for excess energy. Like Norm. She stifled what might have turned into a giggle nobody who knew her would have believed came from her mouth. For a science geek, Norm was awfully...skilled. Must come from all that brainpower being put to good use.

* * *

Tsu'tey frowned as he trailed Neytiri and the _skxawng_. He should not be doing this, he knew it did not reflect well on him, but he was concerned for his...well, he supposed he could not yet call her definitively _his_ woman, as she had kept putting off their mating, but that in no way precluded his being concerned over Neytiri. She had been acting strange ever since Mo'at had forced her to teach the _skxawng_ their ways, and the strangeness had only increased in the last few weeks. Tsu'tey wanted to make sure the _skxawng_ wasn't bothering her in some way or being somehow inappropriate to her.

Which is how he had ended up separating from the hunting party today and instead hiding himself in the trees out of sight of both of them as they worked to prepare the _skxawng_ for an attempt at _iknimaya_. Tsu'tey doubted that even if he proved himself capable of bringing down prey he would ever survive a confrontation with an _ikran_ but then again, the _skxawng _had proven himself a surprise by even managing to survive this long.

As he watched, the _skxawng_ actually managed to wrap his _meresh'ti kau'pla_ around the dummy _ikran_ head Neytiri had set up.

"Very good, Jhake," she grinned, "Now do it again five times and perhaps we will move on to shooting."

"Right," the _skxawng_ nodded, and Tsu'tey was surprised by his level of seriousness. He hadn't thought such a thing would be possible.

Okay, so the _skxawng_ could be serious in his training. He supposed anything was possible. As he watched Neytiri, though, he frowned. She was standing awfully close to the _skxawng_ and her body language was...disturbing. She was clearly growing far too close to her student. Tsu'tey's tail twitched in irritation. He just didn't understand the fascination these _uniltìranyu_ people seemed to have for so many Na'vi. At least the _skxawng_ didn't seem to be making any untoward moves at Neytiri, so perhaps all was not entirely lost. Once the novelty wore off and the _skxawng_ was gone, her fascination would no doubt fade.

Yes. He would just have to ensure that the two spent more time apart, and perhaps something would happen during _iknimaya_ which would mean he didn't have to worry any longer. After all, it was not unknown for young prospective hunters to become badly injured or even die in the attempt to tame their _ikran_. If nothing else, perhaps by spending time with the _skxawng_ he might begin to create that bond between warriors which would afford him the _skxawng_'s respect and reinforce his claim to Neytiri. From everything he had heard, _uniltìranyu_ males were the same as Na'vi males in that they respected the claims of their brothers and did not poach on their territory.

Certainly he had better watch the rest of this training. He needed to protect his territory, and it also might be a good idea to know more about how the _uniltìranyu_ warrior thought. Tsu'tey did not trust him beyond where his eye caught sight of the _skxawng_'s tail, but as long as Neytiri was focused on teaching him, Tsu'tey knew she would be dedicated to her duty, and so as long as she was focused on her teaching, he was going to watch over them.

And since they weren't going anywhere for at least a little while, Tsu'tey settled himself in on the branch comfortably to continue his watch.

* * *

It was not long after Cathy and Antsu returned from their "honeymoon" that Jake passed another milestone. He made a clean kill, and it was at that point that Neytiri decided he was ready to attempt _iknimaya_, as soon as a group of youngsters could be gathered who were ready as well.

Jake was feeling pretty damned pleased with himself as he carried the _yerik_ back to those who prepared the evening meal. As it was his first kill on his own, there would be a small ceremony, and while the _yerik_ was cooking he went to find Tom.

It was a very telling thing, the way Tom reacted to the news of Jake's momentous step. Even a couple of weeks earlier he would have been happy for his brother's success but concerned at the same time that Jake was getting in too deep. Now, though, all he felt was a shared sense of accomplishment and pride at his brother's progress. Tom, like Jake, was beginning to truly See. The Omatikaya were no longer an esoteric concept in his head, a product of all his study, but _People_ more real, in some ways, than the humans he woke up to when he closed his eyes each night.

As Jake's brother, Tom was one of the first to get a choice cut of meat from his kill as they sat together for once at dinner, and he grinned at Jake's expectant look.

"Delicious," Tom assured him, "Best I've ever had."

"You're not just saying that?" Jake looked at him askance.

"Would I do that?" Tom made a face at him, "Really, honestly, it's very tasty."

"Good," Jake nodded, "although I guess it wouldn't really matter how it tasted, that isn't the point, right?"

"It is not matter," Ninat agreed, "but nice. It is more easy to compliment when the taste is good."

"Remind me again you need more English lessons," Tom smiled at her, "You're right, though."

"My _Ìnglisi_ is as it needs," Ninat giggled, "_although if you truly wish to teach me perhaps I could be...persuaded._"

Jake snickered, and Tom turned to glare at him.

"Shut it," he said, his embarrassment not totally hidden by his short tone.

"I didn't say anything," Jake smiled innocently.

Tom decided that at this point it was better to simply cut his losses and busied himself with eating so that he wouldn't be able to talk anymore and dig himself any deeper into a hole.

* * *

Grace had not forgotten what she'd said to Tom about finding a safer place for Cathy, and she also hadn't forgotten about the idea Tom had brought to her about the nutrient properties of unobtanium. She figured she might as well combine the two needs into one solution. Cathy had some training in horticulture, all it would need would be sending a botanist and a geologist along with her, and they'd have a good, workable team. She just had to make sure her botanist and geologist were well-vetted and really trustworthy. Maybe she should... She grinned to herself. That would definitely work, although it would mean sending an extra person, since Taka was a zoologist, not a geologist. If there were going to be four on the party, that struck out quite a few of the mobile labs, though. Site 12 would probably be the best fit. It had two link modules, meaning six link beds total, and it was remote enough not to get any kind of interference from Selfridge and his cronies.

She hummed tunelessly to herself as she considered who else to send along. She actually had three geologists to choose from. Especially in the beginning, geology had been a priority for the RDA and thus geologists had been given first chance of getting avatars. Presently, the AVTR program had Dave, LeJun and Carlos representing the geology department, and of those three men, Grace figured she trusted Carlos most. He'd been in the program almost as long as she had, and was mature and stable enough not to be disturbed by the secretive secondary nature of the assignment. Besides which point, he was thoroughly uninterested in getting into any kind of romantic relationship, which only helped things when he was going to be stuck with the three younger scientists for an extended period of time.

She wouldn't even really need to explain her reasons for attaching a zoologist to the team. Given that they were going to be out away from quick access and defense, it only made sense to have someone there who understood the local animals and could predict their behavior and thus protect the others from making any silly mistakes that could get them killed.

She debated briefly with herself, but she finally decided the benefits of going back to Hell's Gate herself to make the assignments would be outweighed by the suspicion that level of interest would incite. Instead, she dialed up the secure channel she kept with Max Patel.

"What's up, Grace?" Max asked as he answered.

"I have a new project," she said, "and I want to send a team out to Site 12. I'll send the details along after, but I thought it might work better, since I'm out here, if you passed on my orders to the folks I'm sending out there."

"Of course," Max nodded. "Who did you want out there?"

"Cathy, Taka, Carlos and Louise," she said. "I need a botanist and a geologist, Cathy's a good horticulturalist, so she can consult with them when she's not busy in link, and I'm not sending any group out there without a zoologist."

"No doubt," Max nodded. "You want them out there ASAP, right?"

"You know me so well," Grace chuckled, "I want them out there yesterday, if possible."

"Got it."

"Oh, and you're going to need to requisition some unobtanium dust for them to use. That shouldn't be too hard; it doesn't have to be superior grade or very refined, they're just going to be using it as fertilizer."

"Um...fertilizer...okay..." Max raised an eyebrow, "I'm guessing you have a good reason."

"Definitely," she grinned at him, "Right now this is one of the most important projects we have going."

"You'll have to fill me in on it when you can," Max said, "now you've got me curious, and plants aren't even in my area of study."

"If this works out, I'll be sure to tell you all about it," she nodded to him, "now you'd better get on those four, well, the three of them anyway, I'll take care of notifying Cathy."

"Right," Max nodded again. "Take care of yourself out there, Grace."

"Hey, I always take care of what needs to be taken care of," she shook her head at him, "now scurry." She shut down the comlink and hit send on the email detailing the new assignment for the new team.

* * *

When he got his new assignment, Taka had to hide the grin that wanted to spread across his face. Clearly, this was Grace giving him the green light to proceed in his efforts to win Louise over. Why else would he be assigned to this team. Protection or not, assigning the lead zoologist to fieldwork which didn't directly involve him was nothing if not suggestive, at least, when you knew the backstory.

Which not too many people did, or at least he hoped not too many people did. He thought he'd done a pretty decent job of pretending nothing had changed, at least where anyone could see, and he knew Louise was doing a stellar job of acting like her normal self.

He was itching to get going so they could spend some serious "alone time" together, but before he left, he realized there was one very important thing which couldn't simply be left to fend for itself. His "special project". Nobody knew about his special project, he hadn't even shown it to Louise yet. He should probably show her before they left as well, she'd want to see it. And then he was going to have a long talk with Nala. Nala would be taking over his other research, after all, so she might as well be put in charge of the special project. Taka sighed. He was going to miss it though, especially the early morning meditation sessions. He hoped he'd find a good place out near Site 12 to meditate when he was out there. It really was...quite an amazing experience, and he didn't want to go too long without it.

"If you don't mind," he said to Max, "I should really run over some of my experiments with Nala so she knows what's going on."

"Of course," Max agreed, "In fact, if any of you need to take a few minutes to speak to anyone about any projects you'll have to be leaving behind here, I suggest you do it now. You're going to have to pack quickly and you'll be shipping out very early tomorrow morning, at first light. Grace wants this going ASAP."

"Of course," Taka nodded. "As always."

* * *

Once he'd gotten into link, he grabbed Louise. "Come with me," he said, "I have something to show you here before we go."

"Something to show me?" she gave him a confused (and slightly wary) look. "What could you possibly have to show me here? We all live in the same compound, I think I've seen most of the hidden nooks and crannies."

"Well, there's one you haven't been to yet," he shook his head, glancing around to make sure nobody was watching them too closely. "Come on, it's over by my workstation."

Her curiosity piqued, Louise followed him, grinning once she realized they were now out of sight of anyone else. "If you just wanted a little alone time..." she said, her fingers trailing down his tail playfully.

He laughed. "That wasn't actually the plan, but since you suggested it, perhaps we can work that in," he said, pulling her against him. He gently kissed her a couple of times, but then shook his head. "Before I get distracted though, this is what I brought you here to see."

Turning her around (but keeping his arms wrapped around her waist from behind) he led her into what had originally been designed as a holding pen for animals being examined. The pen was now empty, however, except for one thing. A tiny sapling about two feet tall, and as to species, well, the trailing, almost crystalline looking boughs quickly made that obvious.

Louise gasped. "How...what did..." She shook her head, dumbfounded. "How long has that been here and how the hell did you manage to keep it a secret?" she asked. "If Grace knew..."

"If Grace knew, it wouldn't have stayed secret," he sighed, "and I wasn't about to let it be torn apart to be studied. It isn't strong enough yet. And as far as how long it's been here? Well, I first noticed it peeking out of the ground about a year ago, although I wasn't sure what it was until six months ago."

"They grow quickly, it seems," Louise slipped from his hold to kneel in front of the little _Utral aymokriyä_, stroking its fronds gently.

Taka smiled at the sight and sank down into _seiza_ next to her. "I will tell her, when the time is right," he said, "for now, I admit I've been a little...possessive and protective. It's amazingly peaceful though, even just being here, but what I truly wanted to show you goes a little further than just the tree. Have you ever actually...done _tsahaylu_ with anything before?"

Louise shook her head. "I haven't had a reason to," she admitted, "and I was never lucky enough to get riding lessons or anything like that back when we were on good terms with the Omatikaya."

"Ah," Taka nodded, "well, I was one of those lucky ones, as you put it, and knowing what it was like to bond with a direhorse, once I realized what I had growing in here I figured why not try a little experiment, so..."

"You've been bonding with the tree?" Louise blinked, "what's it like?"

"That was what I was going to show you," he smiled gently at her and reached around to pull his queue over his shoulder. "You don't have to just watch," he said as the neural tendrils of his queue wrapped themselves around a frond and his eyes closed, a blissful expression coming over his face, "I know you must want to try it too."

"Is it really okay?" she asked, but he could see that she had already gathered her queue up and was extending it toward the tree as well.

"It really is," he reassured her.

As the neural tendrils of her queue wrapped around another frond, her eyes opened wide and she gasped. "That's...incredible!"

Taka was torn between wanting to watch the blissful expressions passing over her face and wanting to sink completely into the bond. He could hear the faint voices he always heard when he linked up with the tree, but now it was different. He could hear _her_ voice as well, and it was far from faint. It wasn't like true, direct _tsahaylu_ he was sure, but he could feel her wonder as though it was his own. He reached out and caught her hand in his, squeezing it gently.

"Taka, I can...feel you, too?" she looked over at him.

He just nodded, meeting her eyes steadily.

She let her eyes close and leaned against him. "Thank you," she finally whispered as she let her queue slip away from the tree and into her lap.

"You're welcome," he smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as he broke _tsahaylu_ as well.

* * *

The night before he was to climb the Thundering Rocks, Neytiri caught Jake's eye as he slipped into his _nivi_.

"_Do not go to sleep,_" she whispered to him, "_Wait four hands of time, until all have settled, and then come with me._"

He raised an eyebrow at her, but then nodded. "I'll follow you," he whispered back, closing his eyes but not letting himself break link. Instead, he just listened to the world around him, to the sounds of the clan going to sleep, families settling down together. Finally, he heard quiet movement beside him, which meant Neytiri was getting up, so he sat up as well, slipping back up out of his _nivi_ and following her silently down the branches of Hometree and out into a quiet nearby grove.

"Okay, what're we doing here?" he asked when she finally stopped.

"Tomorrow you go on _iknimaya_, I would pray for your safety to Eywa," Neytiri smiled gently at him, "You have not parents to make the prayers for you so as your teacher it is my duty." She pressed softly on his shoulders until he was kneeling.

"Um...thanks," Jake smiled at her, "You don't have to, but... I appreciate it."

"I do not have to, that is true," Neytiri shook her head, "but it is right that I should do this thing." She knelt next to him, opening a seedpod which had been adapted to hold body paint. Dipping her thumb in, she painted a long swipe of colour up over the bridge of his nose and across his brow, then re-dipped to draw a corresponding wing on the other side, creating a wide V-shape before finishing by pressing the pad of her thumb directly where, had he been human and believed in such things, the third eye should have been. Two final quick movements depicted the rear wings of the stylized _ikran_ she was drawing on his face, then she placed her hand over her heart, a tiny smear of paint resting just between her collarbones, partly hidden by her necklaces.

She tied the seedpod closed again and bowed her head. "_Great mother, I ask that you smile upon this child as he offers himself up to your grace. Keep watch over him and spread the wings of your child who will be his ikran that they may fly together forevermore._"

Jake bowed his own head quietly as she spoke. He wasn't able to catch everything she said, some of the words seemed familiar but more formal than he was used to. As she spoke, a few of the _atokirina_ came down and hovered between them, first floating over her hair and them moving to settle on his forehead and shoulders.

He barely dared to breathe as they brushed against his face, and then they were gone, and Neytiri's eyes were staring directly into his with something deep and unspoken echoing between them.

Then she blinked and the moment was gone. "You should sleep," she said, "you have much to do tomorrow, a long, busy and tiring day."

"I should definitely catch some shut-eye," he agreed, standing quickly.

"Go first, I will speak a little time more with the forest," Neytiri waved him on.

He glanced back over his shoulder once, but she seemed happy enough still sitting there, so he headed back to his _nivi_ and sleep. She was right, tomorrow _would_ be a really long day.

* * *

Once she was sure Jhake was gone and out of earshot, Neytiri sighed. "_You can come out now, Tsu'tey, I know you're there._" she said aloud to the seemingly empty trees around her.

The soft sound of feet impacting the ground behind her rewarded her statement with the one she had known was watching.

"_You did not need to do that,_" Tsu'tey said, crouching next to her. "_It wasn't as though he doesn't have family here. His brother could have made the prayer just as well_."

"_His brother has not yet learned the prayer for safety on iknimaya, and besides, Txom is yet a child himself._" Neytiri shook her head. "_I may not have been obliged, Tsu'tey, but it was the right thing to do._ _He deserves as much of a chance as the other children who will climb with you tomorrow._"

"_When this is done, will you finally honour your other obligations?_" Tsu'tey asked, frowning.

"_When it is the right time, I will honour my other obligations, as you so delicately put it, oh yawnetu of my sister,_" she said, "_but you must be careful that what you pray for is what you truly wish to have. The great mother hears all prayers, and she may choose to briefly give you that which you think you want, only to show you that it is not that which you need._"

"_Oìsss,_" Tsu'tey snarled and moved off, rising to his feet and pacing off in one smooth movement.

Neytiri sighed again as she watched him go. It wasn't that she didn't love him, but...she did not feel for him the way Sylwanin had, and the way he had felt for Sylwanin, and it still did not seem right that they should mate. She still felt as though she was dishonouring her sister's memory. Neytiri had promised to take care of him, but she was beginning to wonder more and more whether that caretaking really ought to be as his mate. She did not truly believe Eywa would bless the mating, when it came time, and she was worried that would only hurt him more.

She closed her eyes again and began another soft prayer for guidance.

* * *

**And now once again it is time for...**

**Vocab!**

**Na'vi:**

**_kunsìp _- Gunship - English loanword**  
**_toktor _- Doctor - another English loanword**  
**_yawnetu _- this is the proper term for "lover" or "boy/girlfriend"**  
**_tawtute _- "Sky person" - human**  
**_Ìnglisi _- English - obviously a loanword**  
**_Oel ngatì kameie_ - "I See you", formal Na'vi greeting**  
**_irayo _- thankyou**  
**_nantang _- viperwolf**  
**_uniltìranyu _- "dreamwalker" - avatar **  
**_skxawng _- Oh come on, I don't have to translate this one anymore surely!**  
**_meresh'ti kau'pla_ - lit. "nothing to see", the modified palm frond used to lasso a banshee**  
**_iknimaya _- As discussed in the last chapter, the rite of passage to become a hunter among the Omatikaya**  
**_ikran _- Banshee, big scary awesome flying bird/lizard thing the Na'vi ride**  
**_yerik _- hexipede, basically like a deer**  
**_Utral aymokriyä_ - "tree of voices", the kind of trees that allow Na'vi to listen to the voices of their ancestors**  
**_tsahaylu _- the bond created between beings on Pandora**  
**_nivi _- sleeping hammock**  
**_ atokirina _- seeds of the sacred tree**  
**_oìsss _- Basically equivalent to "arrgh" or "Shut it/watch it!" Not a word so much as a conversational utterance. We hear Tsu'tey say this a lot in the movie XD**

**Japanese:**  
**_seiza _- the formal seated position, kneeling with the feet tucked beneath the bum.**

* * *

**One last thing... I really ought to say a great big thankyou to everyone who reads and sometimes reviews this story. I've never been one to "beg" for reviews, I feel it's best to write for yourself rather than for what your readers want, it works better for me since primarily I'm writing this because I feel it, but all the same, I love every review I get, even the semi-critical ones. So once again...**

**THANK YOU!  
**


	17. Chapter 16: Iknimaya

**My apologies to everyone that this took so long! Mostly it took this long because the _iknimaya_ scene was kicking my _txim_ (now there's a useful Na'vi word! _Txim_ means "butt") I had to watch it over and over and over again to make sure I had all the details minutely accurate. I'm a little anal that way which is why I so rarely duplicate actual scenes from the movie. This one, though, we could not do without.**

**So without further ado, here is the chapter you've all been waiting for!**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 16: Iknimaya

As the sun rose on the day of Jhake's _iknimaya_, Neytiri woke and rose, a small seed of worry and fear hiding itself in her belly. It wasn't that she didn't believe Jhake was capable of passing the test. She had taught him herself, and if he could survive everything she had put him through then by all rights he should survive this too, and even surpass all expectations, but even so, accidents happened every day, and given that this _was_ Jhake and there _were_ those who would be more than happy to see such an "accident" happen, she felt she had every right to worry.

It broke protocol a little... Okay, it was definitely not the usual way of things, but she decided that it might be best if she met up with Jhake, Tsu'tey and the other young soon-to-be-hunters at the nesting grounds of the_ ikran_, just in case. She would not _help_ him, of course; that would be wrong and undermine everyone's respect for him and his own self-respect as well; but there was nothing that said she could not encourage him during his _iknimaya_ and give him a few last pointers just before.

She stretched and smiled slightly to herself. She'd been looking for an excuse to fly anyway; poor Seze had been feeling rather neglected lately since she'd been so busy with Jhake. But first, breakfast. After all, she would make it up to the _ikran_ breeding grounds much quicker by air than the others would overland.

* * *

Tom woke that morning at least an hour before dawn, and since he couldn't manage to roll over and go back to sleep with the way his mind was racing, he decided he might as well just link up instead. At least then he could do something productive and maybe see Jake before he headed out.

When he sat up in his _nivi_ he realized that for once he was actually up before Ninat and the rest of the singers. It was quite a novel experience, really. He quietly pulled himself up onto the branch, trying to make sure he didn't wake anyone. Even a week ago, he knew, he would have made too much noise for that, but even without actual hunting training, he still spent enough time walking around in the woods with Ninat, Kxawn'e and others to have picked up some stealth skills. Besides which, he had quickly discovered that walking the way the Na'vi walked was much, _much_ easier on his now-bare feet, even with the calluses he was developing.

Once he was up onto the branch he went quiet, listening intently to make sure he hadn't woken anyone. When he didn't hear the sounds of anything other than the breeze moving through the branches of Hometree he relaxed. He moved a little way away from the sleepers and out onto one of the outer branches where he sat down, leaning back on his arms and gazing out at the world around him, still mostly glowing and, at this time of the morning, slightly dew-drenched. He decided perhaps Cathy was right in what she'd said some weeks before, the world really was beautiful just before dawn. It also smelled so very clean... He closed his eyes and just breathed the scent in for a minute.

He wondered where Jake would be starting off from and when. He tried to tell himself he wasn't worried for his brother, but that was a lie, he _was_ worried. Even though of course it was only Jake's avatar body which would be harmed, he knew what had happened before to avatar drivers when their bodies were hurt badly or even killed. The feedback could be devastating, could even cause catatonia, stroke or cardiac arrest, and given Jake's more frail condition...well, any one of those could be deadly. The dysreflexia Jake denied having was bad enough, he didn't need any more threats to his life.

Tom was so deep in thought that he failed to hear the sound of someone creeping up behind him. The only warning he had that he wasn't, after all, alone on the branch was a gentle hand placed on his shoulder which held him in place when he almost jumped out of his skin.

"_He will be well,_" Ninat said gently as she sat behind him. "_Jake is strong in body and in spirit._"

"_I know,_" Tom sighed, "_but that doesn't make me worry any less about him. He has...well, he is not the type to back down, even when he ought to, and especially lately he has a tendency to take crazy chances on things._"

"_I am sure Neytiri has prepared him well,_" he could feel the brush of her braids against his shoulders as she shook her head, "_and even if Tsu'tey does not like him, he is an honourable warrior, he would never do anything to jeopardize the chances of any of our young hunters, uniltìranyu or not._"

"_Not even in the case of a potential rival?_" Tom turned to look at her.

"_Not even then,_" Ninat shook her head, "_although I am sure he will not do anything to specifically help your brother either._"

Tom had to chuckle slightly at that. "_No,_" he agreed, "_I suspect he would not be quite that charitable._"

Ninat rubbed his shoulder soothingly, and he felt his back relax almost despite himself. "_Come,_" she said, "_We will eat an early breakfast and wish your brother luck and then I will find something to distract you while you wait for his return._" She stood then and reached a hand down to him to help him to his feet as well.

* * *

Jake also woke before dawn, although he wasn't able to link up right away. Instead, Grace practically held him down and force-fed him, all the while reading from the zoology entries on banshees.

"Grace, come on, I know all that," Jake shook his head, "If I don't link up soon I won't have a chance to eat before we ride out, and that'll _really_ make it harder to concentrate. I don't gotta feed this body, I gotta feed _that_ one!"

Grace glanced out the window at the graying sky. "Okay go, go, but don't blame me if you screw up, and whatever you do, _don't_ fall off the Goddamned mountains," she scowled.

"Oorah!" Jake grinned, hauling himself into the link bed and hitting a couple of buttons (he'd managed to at least learn which ones he had to press if not what they specifically did) before pulling the top down over himself and sinking into the warm comforting cocoon.

The sun was just coming up as he sat up out of his _nivi_. He looked over to where Neytiri always slept, but it looked like she was up already. Or maybe even hadn't gone to bed at all, he couldn't be sure, since he'd already been passed out and back to his human body before he noticed when or whether she came home last night at all. He stretched and quickly hauled himself out onto the branch, heading down to the communal eating area for some breakfast before he left. He almost forgot to take his stuff for the trip and had to rush back to grab it from where it had been stashed in his _nivi_ since nobody had seen fit to gift him with a _chey_ yet.

Settling down to a breakfast of prepared fruits and something that resembled porridge, Jake yawned as he looked around. It was still very early, and only a few people were up yet, but he caught sight of Tom and Ninat wandering into the eating area and waved to catch their attention. Once they had their own plates of food they came over and sat down next to him.

"Excited?" Tom asked him.

"That's one word for it," Jake chuckled. "I'm not too worried though, Neytiri did this whole "asking Eywa to protect me" thing. It was nice." He got a peaceful look on his face. "Not that I totally believe in all this "Mother of All" stuff but still, I'm not gonna turn down anything that might help me out, here."

"I wouldn't either," Tom nodded.

"I blessings add also," Ninat placed a hand gently on Jake's shoulder. "You will be strong and fly straight."

"Thanks," Jake nodded, "I appreciate all the support. Especially since I suspect I'm still not going to get it from certain corners."

"Well, you'll just have to prove those certain corners wrong then, won't you?" Tom grinned.

"You know it!" Jake's answering grin mirrored his twin's almost exactly.

* * *

After she had seen Jake off with the party heading for the Thundering Rocks, and after doing some chores and eating a small noon meal, Neytiri headed back to where her things were stored to prepare for her flight. She sang softly to herself as she slipped on her riding leggings and tied her goggles on. She had plenty of time still before they would make it up to the _ikran_ nests, so she planned to take Seze hunting first.

She called out to her _ikran_ and quickly tossed her a small fish she'd caught in the lake this morning. Seze loved her occasional fish treats, and she cooed happily and extended her neural whip for Neytiri to link with. And Neytiri was only too happy to initiate _tsaheylu_ and hop up onto her _ikran'_s back, taking off with a joyous "_ìley_".

They flew to an area they had hunted in before, where Neytiri knew a plentiful herd of _yerik_ often passed, and it didn't take long to locate an older, injured beast. Perfect prey for Seze. She sent a curious thought through her bond, wondering if the _ikran_ wanted to make the kill herself or whether she would prefer Neytiri to, and got a mental shrug in response. Clearly, Seze didn't feel particularly in the mood for dispatching prey on her own today and was more than willing to cede that duty to her rider.

After shooting it and properly dispatching it she slit the belly and allowed Seze to dig in. She stretched out in a nearby patch of sunlight and gazed at the sky high above the treetops. Soon Jhake would share that world with her, and she couldn't wait to see how he took to it. From the very first time she'd flown Seze for him he'd been entranced with the possibility, she could tell, and she suspected that his trouble with controlling and riding _pa'li_ would not translate to _ikran_ once the initial bonding was done.

* * *

Tom, meanwhile, was not as distracted as Ninat had hoped for. Or rather, he was distracted, but he was distracted by worrying about Jake rather than being distracted by the task she'd set him, and that wouldn't do at all.

"_Come,_" she said, "_If you cannot focus on carving the flute it will only turn out useless. Let us do something else instead._"

"_I'm sorry,_" Tom sighed, setting down the piece of reed and the tools he'd been using to try to turn it into a simple musical instrument, "_You're right, I can't focus. I don't think there's anything I __**will**__ be able to focus on, quite frankly. I just keep waiting to feel the echo of some horrific event._"

"_Don't worry,_" Ninat grinned, "_we won't be doing anything which requires focus or concentration. Come, this way,_" she caught his hand as he got to his feet and ran off, dragging him along until his rueful laughter told her he wasn't going to just sit and mope.

They soon reached the shore of the river, at a slow, eddying step pool. One small waterfall emptied into it and another emptied out of it, leaving an almost round body of water about ten body spans across. The sunlight sparkled off the water looked very enticing, and Ninat didn't want to wait any longer. Quickly shedding her necklaces and tucking the trailing end of her loincloth between her legs and up into the band at the back she dove in, parting the water cleanly and swimming for some distance underwater before she surfaced.

"_Come in!_" she called to Tom, "_or can you not swim?_"

"_Oh I can swim_," Tom grinned at her, imitating what she'd done with her loincloth. He backed up a little ways, which confused her, until she saw him take off running toward the water. At the edge of the pool he leapt up, wrapping his arms around his knees, and called out "Cannonball!" whatever that meant, before hitting the water, sending a massive wave splashing everything around him.

When he surfaced he was groaning softly. "Ow..." he said, "_I'd forgotten how much that hurts..._"

"_Skxawng,_" Ninat giggled, sweeping her arm to splash him in turn.

He spluttered and pushed his hair out of his face, then lunged toward her. "_I'm gonna get you for that!_" he laughed.

"_You can try,_" she grinned, "_but you have to catch me first!_" She dove back under the water without warning, swimming quickly toward the deepest part of the pool

* * *

When Seze was done with her meal Neytiri set off again, leaving what remained of the _yerik_ corpse for the scavengers that were no doubt hovering nearby. She'd heard the flutter of at least two _ikranay _overhead as she rested, and she was sure they would be more than happy for such a meal, even if it was the leavings of her _ikran._

As she approached the Thundering Rocks she could see Tsu'tey and the three prospective hunters almost at the staging cave where they would prepare to enter the _ikran_ rookery. Perfect, she grinned to herself; her estimation of timing was exactly right.

Seze backwinged gracefully onto the small ledge and Neytiri caught Jhake grinning at her and grinned right back. "_I See you_," she said to all of them and turned her smile to the rest of the small group.

Tsu'tey's responding gesture was somewhat curt, and she could see from the expression on his face that he wasn't particularly happy to see her here at this time. Then a smirk crossed his face and she couldn't help but be concerned for what could have caused it.

"Jhakesuuly will go first," he announced, and she could have hit him over the head with her bow if she'd had the room. She knew he was doing it simply because he could, and because he didn't like Jhake. Of the three students Jhake was the most winded, he should have been afforded an opportunity to rest and catch his breath, but of course Tsu'tey was not going to allow that.

Jhake only nodded and handed his bow to Tsu'tey, so she followed after him, whispering words of encouragement. She knew he could do this, she _knew_ he could, she had taught him herself, after all, but all the same, he had only had a fraction of a season to learn, unlike the others who had been working toward this their whole lives, and any number of things could go wrong during _iknimaya_.

She fought the urge to hold her breath as he stepped out into the rookery.

* * *

After having caught Ninat's tail three times under water (It had been a while since he'd been swimming for fun rather than just swimming lengths in the University's training pool to build up the strong constitution necessary for avatar drivers but the skills came back quickly) Tom had switched to just floating in the middle of the pool, watching the sky above calmly. It was amazing. Somehow every day here brought at least one new experience. He'd never in his life thought he would be swimming in such an idyllic locale. It reminded him of images from advertisements for "paradise vacations" in one of the indoor biodomes exclusive to the ridiculously wealthy, but he was _here_ and he wasn't inside some meticulously sculpted artificial enclosure but in the middle of nature in all its glory.

All of a sudden his heart started to race. His eyes widened and he almost went under in his shock. Choking slightly he righted himself in the water, half-forgetting to tread water as he focused all his attention inward, praying not to feel the sharp echo of pain that would mean Jake was injured or worse.

"_Are you alright?_" Ninat swam over to him, concern clear in her voice.

"_It's Jake,_" he whispered, _"Something's...something's happening!_"

"_All will be well,_" she soothed, wrapping her arms around him and moving him over to where they could sit near the edge of the pool, "_Your brother is strong and brave, he will not fail at this, all will be well._"

Tom barely heard her he was so focused on his phantom "twin" sensations, but he knew she was there, and it was a comfort. "Thanks," he said, making himself smile for her.

* * *

Why wasn't he making the bond? He was dangerously close to... Neytiri gasped and cried out in horror as the _ikran_ stunned Jhake with a blow to the head and flipped him off and over the edge of the cliff. She barely heard Tsu'tey's triumphant laughter as she started to run toward the edge. He hauled himself back up, though, to her relief, and was right back onto the _ikran_ again. She felt like her heart had stopped for a moment there!

"_Tsaheylu, Jhake,_" she reminded him sternly, "_tsaheylu!_"

Ah, that looked like it had gotten through! His hands finally went for the necessary area of the _ikran_ instead of focusing on its head. He'd wrapped his legs around its head instead. Smart boy.

He let out a primal cry as the bond was made, and then everything was calm.

* * *

And then the smile was real as he felt a burst of exhilaration that could only mean Jake had succeeded. He let out an excited whoop of joy and without even thinking about what he was doing wrapped his arms around Ninat and kissed her.

A minute later, when he realized what he'd just done, he pulled back, his eyes wide and his face, he was sure, blazing. "_Um...sorry,_" he stuttered, "_I...didn't know I was going to do that._"

"_I am not insulted,_" she smiled gently at him and stroked his cheek, "_I am glad to share in your joy._"

"_Still, I shouldn't have done that,_" he shook his head.

"_Let us swim some more,_" Ninat laughed lightly, wriggling out of his arms (he'd still been holding her? How had he not even realized?) and heading toward the waterfall that emptied into their pool.

He laughed ruefully and swam after her again, determined to catch her tail at least two more times.

* * *

"_Srane,_" she praised him, moving slowly and carefully toward the pair as he let the _ikran_'s jaws loose and stroked it soothingly. Once they were up again and Jhake settled into an appropriate seat for flying, she moved a little faster. "First flight seals the bond," she told him, "you cannot wait." She turned them toward the cliff, her heart pounding. The major hurdles had been passed, yes, but there was still one remaining. "Think _fly_!" she said emphatically.

"Fly?" It was a question but the _ikran_ chose to interpret it literally and they took off so quickly she had to duck beneath its wing or risk being swept off the side of the rock herself. Now Jhake had to learn how to fly, or rather, how to let his _ikran_ fly and how to direct him on where to go rather than how to go. The _ikran_ had already mastered the air currents on its own, after all. Its rider was merely...suggesting places to go, working in collaboration to get to a place both wanted to be. The true friendship and partnership would come with time, but for now they needed to work out the basics.

Once his flight had leveled out and calmed, she ran for Seze, eager to join him and share her joy of the sky with him. She and Seze dove together, and she could tell Seze also wanted to fly with them.

The look on his face as he greeted her spoke directly to her heart. He was a natural at flying. Just as she had known he would be. With every turn he was right with her, and as Seze tried a few of her more energetic tricks he copied them almost perfectly, his body moving as his _ikran_ needed it to in order to reduce the pull of the wind. The joy she had always felt in her heart at flying was magnified by his own joy a thousandfold, in a way she had never expected it to be. Truly, flying with him made even flying itself a new experience.

* * *

The cries of excitement echoing through _Kelutral_ reached Tom and Ninat where they were lying on the bank of the river, worn out from their playing, and Tom leaped up, turning quickly.

"_They have returned,_" Ninat confirmed, sitting up a little more calmly, but excited as well. There were only cries of joy on the air, and that spoke well of how all three of the hunter candidates had done. "_Come, if you want to congratulate your brother you had better get there before he's mobbed by everyone else._"

Tom was already jogging off in the direction of _Kelutral_ though, and Ninat laughed to herself. Definitely she was saying what was already known, there!

She followed at a slightly slower pace, letting Tom be the one who reached his brother first. She...had things to think about. She brushed her fingers delicately over her mouth. She hadn't been expecting the kiss, that was truth, but she also had not been upset by the thought that such a kiss should happen. She was finding herself more and more entranced by Tom; fascinated by the different layers and faces of him, and today she had seen two new ones which only made her... She stopped. She had been about to think "love him more" but were those truly her feelings?

Yes, she realized, they truly were. The only trouble with that was how he felt, or more to the point, how he would _allow_ himself to feel. She knew he was very stern with himself, that there were barriers between him and her people which his mind had put up and which only he could lower. She could work to _encourage_ him to lower them, but it would be a delicate balance. A hunt, she smiled to herself. A hunt in which she must be careful not to alert the prey to her true intentions or she would scare him off and all would be lost. He would deny himself anything if he thought it was in the interest of the greater good, but what he failed to realize - what she herself would need to slowly teach him - was that the greater good would be better served if he was happy, and that she could make him so.

She smiled a little secretively to herself and began to plot her strategy. She might be trained as a singer, but she had spent her childhood playing hunting games with Neytiri and Tsu'tey, and she hadn't _entirely_ forgotten how.

* * *

That night, after all the excitement was over and Jake was out of link, Grace had to basically browbeat him into doing his log. Trudy was out tinkering with something on her Sampson and Norm decided that rather than being inside and listening to the bitch session he'd ask Jake about flying later and go hang out with Trudy for a bit. He had...things to discuss with her anyway. He really hoped he was right about those things, though. Otherwise he was going to sound like a complete and total idiot.

He quietly grabbed a mask and slipped outside, tapping on the window of her cockpit to get her attention.

She waved and smiled, and gestured at the copilot's seat with an inquisitive look in her eyes.

He smiled back and nodded, and watched as she grabbed her mask before opening the door for him. He hopped inside, closed the door after him, and waited for the environmental control system to cycle through and the light to go green again before slipping his mask off. It was now or never. He took a deep breath, smiled at her, and said "_Ki'imak in wo'ol in wilikech_."

She blinked and stared at him for a long moment, and he almost thought he'd been wrong, until a slow smile spread across her face and she replied "_Bey xan teen._"

He thought his face was going to split open he was grinning so wide now. "I _knew_ it!" he crowed, "I just _knew_ it!"

"You're a smart boy," she agreed with a laugh, leaning over to kiss him, "how'd you figure it out anyway?"

"What? You only have it painted on the outside of this very vehicle," he scoffed.

"Mmm...true," she admitted, "but that's hardly obvious. I mean, that could mean any number of other things. Nobody else's figured it out since I've been here."

"Well, I suppose not everyone has the advantage of having done their Masters thesis on twentieth- to twenty-second century Mesoamerican cultures," Norm admitted.

That made her laugh out loud. "I knew there was a reason I liked you other than your cute ass," she grinned.

"Um..." Norm's face went red.

"You do realize you can't tell anyone else," she said, suddenly serious.

"Can't tell anyone? But why?" he looked plainly confused now, "I mean, it's not like it's a crime or something. Maya may not be common anymore, but there's still clusters of them out there, I'd think you'd be proud of it or something."

"Mmm...I am," she nodded, "but I gotta be quietly proud, if you know what I mean. There's Maya and then there's _Maya_ an' given who my _taat_ was..."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly wanting more of an explanation.

"You said you studied modern Maya an' stuff right," she said, "Up to this century? I'm sure you've heard of Inego Montejo then, right?"

"Um, I would've heard of Inego Montejo even if I hadn't studied the area; we learned about him in my history class in high school," Norm pointed out. "I did study him in some more depth later though, I mean, he was such a great environmental activist, even if he _was_ also a guerrilla fighter and leader of a band of rebels. I always used to try and imagine what it would've been like to live in one of his camps in the remains of the Belizean jungles. Actually, Hometree kinda reminds me of some of what I imagined."

"You'll have to show me sometime then, if you can," Trudy smiled a little, "It'd maybe remind me of home."

His eyes widened.

"Yup," she said, a shit-eating grin spreading across her face, "I use the last name _na'_ adopted when he sent us away to be safe, but until I was about eight or nine my name was Trudy Montejo and I lived in a camp in the jungle." She leaned back in her chair and stretched languidly.

"I won't say a word to anyone," he said seriously. "Especially not any of the military types, but... I have to ask, how did you _ever_ end up in the military? I mean, what if you'd been deployed somewhere like Guatemala or Venezuela?"

"I was a bit of a rebel in my teens," she shrugged. "It's a long story. But anyway I don't have to worry about that anymore, now I'm here. I kinda figured coming here was gonna be the closest thing I'd ever get to going home, even if it's millions of miles away. At least here I can be out in a place that's green with clean skies the way _taat_ always wanted for us."

Norm reached out wondering fingers and stroked her cheek. "We can make it home," he agreed softly, "if you want, we can call it home."

That made her smile in a much gentler way than usual, and she hopped over so that she was straddling his lap and kissed him soundly. "You're too frickin' good for me sometimes, you know that?" she muttered.

"Hardly," he laughed softly, "if anything you're the one who's too good for me. I can't believe I've spent the last month or so making out with a Mayan princess."

"You better believe it, buster," she laughed, "and just now your princess demands a little attention." She ground her hips against the obvious bulge stirring beneath her.

Norm groaned and gave in, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her hard, sliding one hand down to caress her glorious behind. He'd never felt so lucky in his life.

* * *

**Couple of points for this chapter: **

**1. Dysreflexia. What is it? I'm sure a bunch of you are wondering. Autonomic Dysreflexia is a condition which effects spinal cord injury sufferers whose point of injury is above a certain point, and some also below that (I'm not looking it up again right now but you can if you like). Basically what it means is that the part of the body which is disconnected from the brain feels some sort of pain or discomfort but it isn't able to communicate that to the brain so it triggers the autonomic nervous system, which sends the body into "fight or flight" which the brain gets confused by since it doesn't see the reason for it and tries to counter, but its counteractions only go down as far as its route on the spinal column is intact...basically this is bad news, as it massively raises the blood pressure and can lead to strokes and other such Really Bad Things (tm). It suddenly occurred to me that Jake _is_ paralyzed below a certain point, and besides the wastage of his legs we...really don't get to see much about how that effects him. Having worked caring for a quadriplegic at one time in my past, I'm quite aware of some of the less-obvious and private issues paralysis victims have to deal with on a daily basis. I won't go into detail though, have no fear XD. Basically we'll just say that I'm sure Jake is quite as independent as he can be about things and leave the messy bits out of it. **

**2. Maya. In case you're wondering, no I didn't simply pull this explanation for Trudy's background out of thin air. The word "Maya" _is_ actually written on the door of her Sampson after her name, and that got me thinking. (well actually it got me wide-eyed staring at the screen and dancing a little mental jig of excitement and inspiration lol) Most people are familiar with the Maya for the ancient "Mayan Calender" which predicts "the end of the world" (actually to be more precise about it they are talking about the end of a cycle of the world, a major paradyme shift and stuff like that) in the year 2012. The vast civilization of the Maya is gone, of course, but interestingly enough the Maya themselves are not. There are still vast numbers of Maya who live in and around their old stomping grounds, and they have quite a few dialects still reasonably widely spoken. Given all that, I figured it wasn't completely outside the realm of possibility that there would still be pockets of Maya culture a hundred and fifty years or so into the future. Giving her this sort of background also helps explain the different reaction she has from the other trained soldiers during later events in the movie (which I'll have to tackle at some poing ;_; so not looking forward to writing that chapter!)**

**And now for the...**

**Na'vi vocab:**  
_**iknimaya**_** - The right of passage to become a hunter. Translates literally as "stairway to heaven"**  
_**ikran**_** - the big "birds" the Na'vi fly on, otherwise known as banshees or, more properly, "mountain banshees"**  
_**nivi**_** - sleeping hammock**  
_**chey**_ **- short for "_p'ah s'ivil chey_" a personal belongings rack to hang your things on**  
_**tsaheylu**_** - the bond, the Pandoran way of connecting to animals, other people, and the world around you**  
_**ìley**_** - This is what's known as a "conversational" word, it doesn't have a direct translation, it's more like saying "Woohoo!" or "Yeah!"**  
_**yerik**_** - deer-like prey animal**  
_**ikranay**_** - referred to as "forest banshees", these are the slightly smaller cousins of the mountain banshee, and are too small for the Na'vi to ride.**  
_**skxawng**_** - uh, yeah, you better know this one by now ^_~**  
_**srane**_** - "yes"**  
_**Kelutral**_** - Hometree  
**

**Yucatec Mayan Vocab:**  
**_Ki'imak in wo'ol in wilikech._ - "Happy to see you"**  
**_Bey xan teen._ - "Me too"**  
**_Taat_ - Father**  
**_Na'_ - Mother**

**In case anyone's interested, this is my reference: www(dot)mostlymaya(dot)com/yucatec_maya_intro_(dot)htm**


	18. Chapter 17: Moving Forward

**This chapter is interesting, we've now officially passed one of the "milestones" of the plot, and things are about to begin moving in a slightly different direction from the movie. Oh I'm not saying everything that happened in the movie won't happen, but you might find it happening in slightly different ways, which I hope you'll all enjoy.**

**Hang on folks, you're in for a bumpy ride! With a good amount of fluff mixed in, of course. It wouldn't be me if there wasn't some fluff XD  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 17: Moving Forward

Later that evening, after the new hunters had been excitedly welcomed home but before dinner, Ninat sat Tom down with an expression he didn't recognize. It was very...thoughtful, although he couldn't tell what she was thinking about.

"_Your hair is a mess,_" she said, "_I will fix it for you. You do not want to look unkempt for the celebration of the new hunters._"

"_Thank you,_" Tom nodded, closing his eyes and trying not to think about how close she was sitting behind him as she began to undo his braids, placing each of the beads and adornments into his open hand as she took them out.

"_You are doing very well in your studies,_" Ninat said as she worked, "_Sempul says you are progressing faster than even he thought you would._"

"_Well, I do have two very good teachers,_" Tom shrugged, fighting the urge to moan softly as she combed her fingers through his now-loose hair and gently massaged his scalp. The masses of tiny braids the Na'vi habitually wore might be practical, but after a time they did tend to pull, especially as the hair grew, and he hadn't even realized his head was getting a little uncomfortable until now.

"_The teacher is only as good as the student allows them to be,_" she countered as she rubbed her thumbs from the base of his ears down along the edge of his trapezius muscles all the way to his shoulders, then back up the nape of his neck to the base of his queue.

"Mmm...?" he mumbled incoherently, almost melting against her. That felt way too good to be safe, he really should stop her from doing that, the only problem was he was categorically incapable of movement just at that moment...

"_It is time, Tom,_" she said as her fingers moved back out to his ears to massage along his hairline now, meeting at the center and slowly crawling back along the top of his head in a way that made him shiver.

"_Time?_" he asked, still a little too incoherent to really understand what she meant. "_Time for what?_"

"_Time for you to pass the first of the Singers' tests,_" she said gently, "_For the celebration you will be the one to sing the tale of your brother's first flight._"

Tom's eyes went wide and he tried to turn and look at her, but she gently directed him to face forward again.

"_Mawey, Tom, do not fear. I know you can do this. I would not have suggested it if I did not know you were ready._" Her fingers worked their way down to the base of his queue again, from the top, this time, and very gently caressed there.

This time he couldn't quite contain the sighing groan of contentment. "_If you say I am ready then I must be,_" he finally said, "_but I will need your help. I don't even know how a first flight song is usually sung._"

"_Of course I will help,_" she shook her head, giving him a brief hug from behind, "_I am still your teacher and this is only the first of the Singers' tests, after all._" Just before he was about to object that she shouldn't be hugging him, she let him go and shifted so that she was sitting up on her knees. "_Now lean your head back for me, I'm going to do something a little different with the front this time,_" she said, guiding his head back to rest against her so he didn't strain his neck as she worked on his braids.

* * *

Late that night, after everyone was asleep, Tsu'tey rolled over and very quietly got up. He had no desire that anyone know where he was going, and it wasn't as though he could sleep anyway; he had far too much on his mind for that, and there was really only one person he could talk to about it.

Silently he moved down to the base of _Kelutral_ and out, blending into the shadows under the leaves, his _sanhì_ making him all but indistinguishable from the forest around him. Just a few more sparks of bioluminescent blue light among millions of others. When he reached the grove which was the home of _utral aymokriyä_ he slowed, moving almost reluctantly now that he was at his destination. Speaking to her was...never easy, but it helped, somehow. Even though he was not _really_ supposed to talk to her so directly like this. He had been warned that if he spent too much time among the voices he could lose himself, and he tried to remember that, but every now and then he needed her, and just now was definitely one of those times.

Today had been...trying. He had fully expected the _skxawng_ to conveniently get rid of himself, but instead he had managed to impress all of them with his bravery, and now Neytiri was hardly even bothering to mask her obviously-growing feelings. And then there was what Neytiri herself had said to him the night before. He still did not understand what she could have meant by it; it had sounded like something straight from the lips of a _tsahik_, and perhaps another _tsahik_-trained might be able to interpret for him...and Mo'at was very obviously _not_ the one to ask.

Inside the grove, he settled down beneath one of the larger trees and quieted his mind, trying to focus entirely on _her_ and his memories of their time together. When he felt ready he reached over his shoulder to bring his queue forward, letting its tendrils wrap lovingly around the drooping limbs of the tree and closing his eyes.

"_Sylwanin..._" he called out softly, his mental voice almost lost within the echoes of his ancestors. He almost thought he would not succeed in calling her soul toward him this time, that it had been too long, but then he felt her. With his eyes closed he could almost imagine she was sitting across from him as she so often had in life, giving him that slightly-impatient look of hers that always meant she knew he'd done something she considered foolish.

"_It took you long enough to come to me,_" she sighed, "_What troubles you, ma Tsu'tey?_"

"_There is a dreamwalker among us again,_" he said, "_even though after...what happened to you their kind were banned from the territory of the Omatikaya. He has been allowed to stay and is even being taught our ways..._"

"_Jhakesuuly, yes,_" she said, "_Ney mentioned him. She was...put out that she had to train such a one._"

"_She is no longer quite so upset,_" Tsu'tey sighed, and even to himself he sounded just a little like a whiny child. He needed to work on that. He was a grown man and would be _Olo'eyktan_ one day, after all. Although that day would not come anytime soon, with Eywa's grace.

"_I know,_" she said, and almost he could feel her pet his hand apologetically. "_She has spoken of her confusion to me also, but you know better than to ask for my sister's secrets, Tsu'tey, they are not mine to give._"

"_You are right,_" he apologized, "_Ah, Sylwanin, how can I manage without you around to keep me in line any longer?_"

"_Do not let your anger poison you, as my anger poisoned me,_" she said sadly, "_My anger blinded me and made me foolish, I do not wish the same fate for you, yawne_."

He bit his lip. Hard. At moments like this he almost found himself wishing he had been with her on that day; that he had been there to shield her with his own body, even if the infernal weapons of the _sawtute ayvrrtep_ would likely have killed them both. It...would have been better that way, he sometimes thought.

"_But you did not come for me to simply lecture you,_" she said, "_You had a purpose. I know you too well, Tsu'tey, you do not indulge yourself in speaking to me without good cause._"

"_I did have a question for you_," he admitted finally, "_I...needed someone with tsahik training, and you are the only one who I know will give me a complete answer without sparing my feelings in this matter._"

"_And your question?_" she prompted. He could almost hear the impatience in her voice, and it made him smile slightly. Sylwanin had never been the most...patient of girls when they were young, and although she had improved a little with age, she was still impatient, even now that she had - quite literally - all the time in the world.

"_Neytiri said something to me last night which confused me, and I thought perhaps you could help me understand,_" he said, "_She was clearly speaking as an apprentice tsahik, and I am not trained to understand the intricacies of Eywa as you and she are._"

"_You are stalling, ma Tsu'tey_," Sylwanin laughed, "_Tell me what my little sister said that has you so confused._"

"_She said that I must be careful that what I pray for is what I truly wish to have. That the great mother hears all prayers, and she may choose to briefly give me that which I think I want, only to show me that it is not that which I need. Do you understand what she could have meant by that?_"

"_It would help to know what she thought your prayers might be for_," Sylwanin pointed out.

"_I was...trying to determine how long she wishes that we continue to wait before fulfilling our destiny as required,_" he admitted. Talking about this to _her_ was a little...awkward. Why had he not thought of that before he came to her with his question?

"_You were trying to pressure her,_" he could hear the disappointment in Sylwanin's voice, "_Have I not told you before that all will happen in its due time as Eywa wills it? Ney-ney feels she must do what she is told, but I do not think it would be a betrayal of what we have spoken of together to tell you that she does not feel right about being with you in that way. She still remembers how close you and I were, and sees that as something sacred, not to be impinged upon. As it was, indeed. Our mating would have been blessed by Eywa, I am sure of it, but if you attempted to mate with Ney? Of that I am not so sure. I objected when I learned what Sa'nok had decreed but she did not understand and thought I merely could not let go of that which had been mine in life._"

None of what she was saying made Tsu'tey feel any better about how things stood presently, but he could understand what she meant, and it even made what Neytiri had said make more sense. He sighed. Why were things never easy? Before the _sawtute_ had come everything had been planned, everything had worked as it always had for generations, but now...now everything was strange and confusing. Were he and Neytiri to be Tsahik and Olo'eyktan without being mated? Was that even possible?

"_If you also do not believe Neytiri and I should be mated then tell me, Sylwanin, what am I to do?_" he asked, finally.

"_When the time comes, ma Tsu'tey, you will do the right thing,_" he shivered as he almost felt spectral fingers stroke along his right ear, "_as you have always done._ _When the time comes, you will know what to do._"

He felt her presence fade away then, and he did not attempt to call her back to him. He knew these stolen moments were more than he could hope for and that - as one who lived in Eywa - she could only use so much energy to recreate herself so solidly and loudly to speak alone with him. He let his queue fall away from the bough of the tree and very slowly rose to his feet again, feeling ancient somehow, as though the weight of the whole world was pressing down on his shoulders and trying to crush him.

* * *

Just outside the grove, Antsu sat, waiting. He knew Tsu'tey had not realized he was being followed, and this, he had decided, would be the best time for them to have the talk he had put off while Ka'tsi and he spent their time of bonding together.

"_Did she tell you what you wanted to hear?_" he asked as he heard his friend's soft footfalls draw near to his hiding place.

"_She said what she needed to say...what I needed to hear,_" Tsu'tey corrected, "_but what business is it of yours? And what are you doing sitting out here in the middle of the night when you ought to be wrapped around that new mate of yours?_" The hint of scorn was still audible in Tsu'tey's voice, and it made Antsu frown.

"_She will not notice me gone, she sleeps her empty sleep at this time of night_," he explained, "_and as I said some time back, we need to talk, you and I._"

"_Perhaps we do,_" Tsu'tey agreed reluctantly, "_but must it be tonight? It has been a long day and I was looking forward to sleep._"

"_And you expect to sleep at all after speaking to her? I know you too well, Tsu'tey, you will not sleep long before your dreams wake you, and those dreams are never the kind one might wish on his worst foe. We will speak and then I will sing for you, as I used to, so that you may sleep without dreams._"

"_As you wish_," Tsu'tey sighed, sitting down next to him and leaning back against a tree.

Antsu smiled a little. He had known the offer to sing would convince his old friend he meant well. Besides, there was more than one soul which might be soothed tonight by the songs of healing rest.

"_So what is it you wished to talk to me about?_" Tsu'tey asked when he didn't speak right away.

"_You have always expressed dismay at my feelings for Ka'tsi, and I wanted to try to explain them to you, so that you might be able to see her as more than simply a tawtute woman in her uniltìrantokx._"

"_Feel free to explain,_" Tsu'tey shrugged, "_I still think you are deluding yourself, but ultimately it is you who will pay the price of her eventual betrayal._"

"_It is statements like that one which make me wonder if your heart has become blind,_" Antsu frowned, "_you did not always feel that way. I remember a time when you understood how love can change a person for the better._"

"_I was young and naive, yes,_" Tsu'tey said, "_We both were, and I thought you had grown up, after what happened, but then I realized that only I had come to see the world as it truly was._"

"_You never saw what was between us for what it truly was,_" Antsu countered. "_Ka'tsi holds no loyalty toward those who would have killed her just as easily and with as little care as they killed our people. She explained to me something once which I do not think you have yet realized. The sawtute are not all of the same tribe, although they live in the same place. They have an uneasy alliance, but the aysoktor and the ones who scar the ground are of different clans, and for the most part the tawtute warriors are another clan again, although this Jhakesuuly who lives with us is, due to his brother, loyal more to the aysoktor than the warriors whom he must also answer to._"

Tsu'tey's ears had perked in interest, and he gestured for Antsu to continue. "_I overheard someone saying something about differences between them but I had not realized it was so complete as to be a separation as that of different clans_," he admitted.

"_The aysoktor have no love for those who would destroy our land,_" Antsu explained, "_but they are not warriors, they are more like the singers and healers; they have knowledge, but not the strength to defend themselves properly. The warriors, meanwhile, have strength but little understanding of anything beyond the orders given to them. There is...great unbalance among the sawtute. Only the ayuniltìranyu have begun to understand the balance Eywa brings, and even they are slow to understand. The sawtute cannot...they have no ability to make tsaheylu, Tsu'tey. They cannot understand what they do because it is beyond what they are ever capable of imagining. Ka'tsi explained to me that they have brought their own world so far out of balance that they no longer comprehend what balance even is._"

"_And yet you mated with one of these ones who is unable to balance,_" Tsu'tey shook his head.

"_No,_" Antsu corrected him, "_I mated with one whose understanding of the balance I was privileged to watch unfold before me as she learned our language and our ways. I mated with the woman I fell in love with as she fell in love with our world, our children and our people._"

"_And you?_" Tsu'tey actually chuckled slightly as he added the part Antsu had left out. "_I wasn't completely blind to the way her eyes began to follow you during those first months when she was sent to learn with your father and the other singers._"

"_And me,_" Antsu felt his _sanhì_ flare slightly, "_and I do not regret even one moment we have spent together no matter what some might think of me for it. She is my mate, and if I have to endure her being away from me at times as she sleeps the empty sleep of the uniltìranyu then so be it, it is the trial Eywa has sent me and I meet it gladly. My greatest wish is to see her happy and growing with our child - as Eywa wills, of course - and I had hoped that my best friend might be willing to support us and defend my family as he knows I will always defend him and his._"

"_I...will try to be of more open mind toward your mate,_" Tsu'tey said finally, "_And even if I do not ever come to call her friend, you know I will always defend you and your family from anyone who would do you harm._" He held out his hand to Antsu in a gesture of renewed friendship.

"_Your willingness to listen is all I ever wished from you,_" Antsu smiled and clasped his friend's forearm firmly; "_I have missed you, my friend._"

Tsu'tey snorted in amusement. "_I do not think you have had time to think much of missing me lately,_" he said, "_I am not blind in that either, I see how often you and your new mate slip away from the crowds. I am quite sure your mind is far too occupied with other, more pressing matters to wonder much on what I am doing_."

Antsu just laughed at that. "_You may be right,_" he admitted, "_but that doesn't mean I haven't thought of you now and then, when I am not...occupied. But it is late, and I promised you a song of rest. We should return so that you can get at least a few hours of useful sleep. She would not want you making yourself sick over her memory again._"

* * *

In the meantime, the newest "away team" was settling into their new home at Site 12. Mostly they had spent the first few days just making the place habitable again, but now they were finally almost ready to get down to the business of running their experiments.

Which made Taka very happy, since that meant he wouldn't be press-ganged into making any more enclosed garden boxes. Not that he minded working with his hands, but there were definitely better things he could be doing with them!

Being as this was his first "free" day in a week, Taka decided he'd better get the hell out of dodge before someone found something else for him to do. Perhaps he'd start the day off with a nice meditative session at the tree he'd found near their site. He wasn't sure how exactly it was that _he_ always seemed to be the one finding these things, but on one of his first scouting missions to map the wildlife activity around the site he'd managed to find a fully-grown _utral aymokriyä._ Okay, admittedly he hadn't found it totally on his own, some of those weird little woodsprites had actually led him to it, but all the same...

He smiled when he entered the grove where "his" tree was. It was always so calm here, as though the whole world held this place sacred. Well, he supposed in a way it did. He settled down against the trunk of the tree and linked up to it, closing his eyes and listening to the echoes of voices from long ago. Everything was as it always was when he meditated, at least at first, but then he felt what could only be described as an echo of fear. Fear that seemed to be coming from the minds of...children? And it wasn't like the normal echoes he felt through the tree, this was different: more immediate somehow. He opened his eyes and looked around to see if he could see anyone nearby, but all he could see were more woodsprites..._atokirina_, he reminded himself. Well, he'd long since learned it was best not to ignore the little things, so he stood and disconnected himself from the tree, quickly striding after them. Damn, they could really _move_ for things that looked like airborne jellyfish.

He hadn't gone far before he began to smell a very distinctive scent on the air, and it wasn't a good one. It smelled of death and something rotting.

"This is definitely bad," he said softly as he peered carefully into the clearing where the _atokirina_ stopped. Across the clearing was the obviously-dead body of a thanator. He'd never had a chance to see one of the feline apex predators so close but, quite frankly, this wasn't the way he'd ever wanted to see one. He very carefully and slowly crept closer, trying to see what could have happened to cause this one to die. It looked as though it had been gored by something...or perhaps run into a tree limb, given the splinters he could see embedded in the wound. A wound which had clearly festered, causing a massive infection that even such a powerful predator couldn't fight off.

It was when he moved around to the other side of the body that he heard the soft whimpers, although he couldn't see at first where they were coming from. His avatar ears were good at pinpointing sound though, and he crouched down, staying very still as his ears swiveled to locate the source of the whimpering. There! Under the roots of the tree the thanator's body was half-covering! He crawled inside and was met by two sets of gleaming eyes. Shit! His mother had always said his curiosity was going to get him into trouble one of these days, and it looked like this was that day. He braced himself for the attack, but it never came. Instead the owners of the eyes and faintly-glowing bioluminescent spots he now noticed as well simply increased their whimpering and nuzzled weakly against him.

"Okay," he whispered to them gently, "okay, it's okay, come on out babies." He slowly backed out, scratching their chins affectionately, and very slowly they followed him.

As they began to move into the light he realized just how emaciated they were, and he hissed softly. Which was a mistake. They didn't like the sound, and hissed back, backing away again.

"Sorry babies, sorry," he held out his fingers again, "I wasn't mad at you I promise."

The babies leaned against each other, their neural whips reaching out to touch each other, and that gave Taka an idea. Very gently and slowly he tilted his head so that his queue slid over his shoulder, and then he took it in his hand, reaching forward toward them. The cub on the left moved forward a little, extending its other neural whip toward him, and as contact was made, Taka gasped in shock. He'd been expecting something like when he had linked to the direhorse the Na'vi had taught him how to ride some years back, but this was...massively different. The cub's brain was, for lack of a better term, childish, but not unintelligent. On the contrary, it - she - seemed quite...sentient, although definitely nonhuman.

«_Newdaddy?_» she asked, «_You came feed us?_ _We very hungry. Momma said eat upon her when she became meat but our tooths too soft and she not taste good._»

"I'm not your daddy, but I'll be your friend," he corrected, "and I'll feed you, although I don't have the food with me. You'll have to come back to where I sleep, I have food there you can eat.

«_Are Daddy,_» the cub corrected, «_Big tree-mommy says so, and Momma said always listen to Big tree-mommy, she always right. Sister and I come to where Newdaddy sleep but we maybe we take too long to get there, become meat like Momma. Are thirstyhungrythirsty, very tired, like Momma just before she became meat._»

Just then there was another whimpering sound from within the roots of the tree, and the two cubs flared their crests.

«_Brother not meat? Brother not meat!_» the cub said excitedly to Taka, «_Newdaddy get brother too? Give fooddrink him too?_»

"Of course," Taka said, quickly breaking _tsaheylu_ so he could crawl back in to where the third cub had gone unnoticed. He blessed his Na'vi eyes that could see much better in the dark than his human ones as he managed to make out the faint outline of the male cub curled up in the rear of the den. The little one whimpered again and lifted his head weakly, and Taka carefully moved in close, offering his queue to the male cub, who seemed barely to have the strength to move his neural whip.

«_Hello Newdaddy, are Newdaddy? I feel notgood, I be meat soon, Newdaddy not waste energy on soon-meat-me,_» the male cub sighed.

"I will help you," Taka shook his head, "You aren't going to die if I have anything to say about it. Come, I will carry you out to the entrance to the den so your sisters and I can see when help comes." He very carefully pulled the cub over his shoulder without breaking _tsaheylu_ and crawled back to where he'd left the girls.

The two female cubs curled up around their brother, linking their neural whips with his, the three of them comforting each other, and Taka looked at them in amazement. Well, apparently he now had a new little family to take care of. Or maybe he should say "pride" rather than family. In any case, they needed food, water and medicine, and he didn't want to leave them here on their own while he went all the way back to camp. He pressed his fingers to the throat mic they were all required to wear whenever they went outside.

"Louise," he called, "I need that hexapede the Na'vi dropped off the other day, as much water as you can carry, and antiseptic and bandages, and I need you to bring it to my coordinates," he said quickly.

"Can it wait five minutes? I'm almost done here," she replied.

"It can't, sorry," he said, "there are young lives at stake here, and one of them is very close to the tipping point, I need it now!"

He could almost hear her surprise in the pause before she answered, but then she was all business. "Understood," she said, "I'll be there with what's left of the hexapede and water and bandages as soon as I can."

"Thank you, _koi_," he said softly, then let his hand drop to the small knife he always wore when he hiked out. He knew what he had to do, somehow. It seemed a bit extreme, but then, so were the circumstances. Pulling out the knife, he sent reassuring thoughts to the male cub to whom he was still linked, and through him to the two females. They didn't like his "claw" and thought it meant bad things. "I will not hurt you," he said, "I will help you. Come over to me, babies, and drink." He winced as he drew the knife carefully down the back of his arm, opening a shallow cut, then switched hands and opened another shallow cut on the back of his other arm. One more on the top of his calf and he was done. He bit his lip as their slightly-rough tongues touched the cuts, but there seemed to be something in their saliva which numbed the pain, for which he was glad.

«_Newdaddy not should be meat for us,_» the male scolded, «_but we drink a little. Is different from we drink of Momma, but is good, is makes less thirsty a little, is makes warm belly._»

All three cubs began making an odd, thrumming sound somewhere between a feline purr and the sound of a hummingbird's wings, and Taka could feel their contentment through his link.

* * *

As she approached Taka's coordinates, Louise slowed from her almost-run. Something smelled _nasty_ and she didn't want to scare the kids Taka had mentioned, considering they were probably already hurt and sick enough, from what he'd said.

When she saw him sitting by the dead body of a large thanator she was immediately concerned, but when she saw the three baby thanators licking cuts on his skin she reached down toward her knife, dropping her bundle of food, water and bandages. She was about to rush in to save him when his eyes met hers and he smiled.

"Aren't they just so _kawaii_?" he grinned, scratching just behind the jaw of the one she suddenly noticed he was linked to.

"Only you," she sighed, "would go out for a morning walk and end up bonding with the apex predators of the jungle. I thought you said there were children at stake, not baby animals."

"Same thing," he corrected her as he motioned her over, "and really they're more like children. It turns out the Na'vi aren't the only sentient lifeforms down here." He turned back to the thanator cubs, who were making squeaky growling noises. "It's okay," he crooned, "_daijoubu, iikotachi_, she's a friend, I promise."

Feeling more than a little nervous, Louise drew closer, holding the tarp-wrapped hexapede remains in front of her. The growls changed then as their crests flared, turning into crooning whines, and the little (well, smaller than full-grown, they had to be at least four feet long not including their tails) cubs crawled close to her and nuzzled her hands, clearly pleading for food.

"Okay, okay," she said softly, not wanting to upset the possibly dangerous animals as she set the bag down and pulled it open, taking a leg out for each of them and putting the legs down in front of them. They gnawed at them then whimpered, turning to Taka with a pleading look.

"Okay, we'll do that," he nodded, and then turned to her. "Their teeth aren't strong enough yet to rend flesh," he said quietly, "We're going to need to cut meat off for them in small chunks. I get the impression they were nursing still when their mother died, and she was at the point of supplementing their diet with partially digested food."

"Right," she nodded. "You cut, I'll pour water for them, and then I'd better do something about those cuts." She refrained from yelling "what the hell were you thinking?" like she wanted to, mostly because she really didn't want to upset the baby deadly predators. There would be plenty of time to yell at him after they got home.

Once she'd set the tarp into a small depression in the ground and filled it with water, all three of the cubs gathered around to lap at it, and she busied herself with Taka's cuts, spreading antibiotic ointment on them and wrapping them with bandages. "At least they're clean," she chided.

"And they don't hurt," he added. "There's an analgesic in their saliva apparently."

She just rolled her eyes. "Trust you to keep analyzing even when you're doing ridiculous things like saving baby predators. What ever possessed you in the first place?"

"Just listening to what they called the "big tree-mommy," he laughed. "The woodsprites led me here."

That made Louise blink. "You're kidding, right?"

"Not even a little," he shook his head. "And I wasn't about to refuse the massive entity by whose grace we're here at all."

She nearly jumped right into his lap as she felt something brush against her back, then move alongside her. She turned her head to see one of the cubs very gently brushing against her with the sensory quills which bristled from its crest, and then one of its neural whips moved toward the end of her queue...

And then she could hear the little...female, in her mind.

«_Friend of Newdaddy? Mate of Newdaddy?_» she asked, then she seemed to correct herself. «_No, not mate yet, but mate soon. Will be Newmomma for us?_»

"Yes I'll help take care of you," she smiled a little. She suddenly understood Taka's attitude a bit better. They really were sweet babies. She...tried to ignore the implication of what the (she had to fight not to think of her as a "little girl") female cub had called her.

"You see?" Taka smiled at her as he passed small pieces of meat to each of the cubs in turn, "now do you understand why I had to help them?"

"I do understand," Louise sighed, "but that doesn't mean you're entirely out of trouble, mister. We're going to have a nice long chat about your self-preservation instincts when the children aren't listening."

"Yes, dear," he smiled and kissed her cheek.

She blushed at that, suddenly feeling very...domestic. Which was odd considering the two of them were sitting in the middle of the woods by the rotting body of a dead thanator with three thanator cubs curled up around them falling asleep after their first good feed in what had to be days, at the very least. Louise had never thought of herself as the motherly type, or had any ambitions in that direction, but now... Now Taka had wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned his head on her shoulder and looked to be falling asleep too. She sighed. "What am I going to do with you," she whispered, "You're too good for your own good sometimes. I'm just a nosy, bitch girl with antisocial tendencies, what do I know about keeping a guy like you safe from yourself?"

Ignoring the ridiculousness of their situation she gave in finally, leaning her head against his and closing her eyes as well. She supposed a little nap never hurt anyone.

* * *

**Didn't see that one coming, now did you XD. What can I say, I like the big kitties!**

**And now it's time for vocab! If you already know it, of course, just ignore the words you're familiar with ^_~**

**Vocab:**

**Na'vi:  
**

**_Sempul _- Father _  
_**

**_Mawey_ - Calm/be calm  
**

**utral aymokriyä - Tree of voices**

**tsahik - spiritual leader  
**

**Olo'eyktan - clan leader  
**

**yawne - beloved  
**

**sawtute/tawtute - plural and singular for "sky people", humans  
**

**ayvrrtep - demons  
**

**uniltìrantokx - dreamwalker body - empty avatar body  
**

**aysoktor - doctors, or to be more precise in this case, they're using the word to refer to scientists  
**

**ayuniltìranyu/uniltìranyu - plural and singular for "dreamwalker", avatars  
**

**tsaheylu - the bond  
**

**atokirina - the little emissaries of Eywa, seeds of the sacred tree

* * *

**

**Japanese:  
**

**_koi _- love  
**

**_kawaii _- cute  
**

**_daijoubu _- okay/it's okay**

**_iikotachi _- good children. Actually "_ii_" - good, "_ko_" - child, "_tachi_" - group of people  
**_  
_


	19. Chapter 18: Boys and Girls

**Surprise! Happy Canada Day everyone! You can all celebrate with another wonderful chapter from me to read on your day off (if you're up here) And an early happy independence day down south as well, although I don't know if you want to wait three more days to read in your day off...maybe re-read the chapter then ^_~**

**Be warned, this chapter is the farthest I've gotten into the actual "M" rating thus far, so younglings, avert your eyes. I'm...playing with the edges of what this site allows, so if in future I write something that would actually be classed as NC-17 I'll post the complete chapters elsewhere and edit them tastefully here, then provide the link in my profile ... I guess I should update that shouldn't I? It's about ten years old now...wow I've been writing a long time**

**Anyway, enjoy!  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 18: Boys and Girls

"Wait, now lemme get this straight," Tom frowned, "you grabbed the banshee, tried to hang on, and completely forgot about making the bond with it?"

"I didn't completely forget," Jake interjected.

"No, but it just "slipped your mind" initially." Tom shook his head, "Do you know how much the adrenaline rush scared the shit outa me? I thought you must be falling to your death! I was sitting there just waiting to feel the horrible wrenching pain of you hitting the ground thousands of feet below!" By the time he had reached the end of that sentence his normally level voice had gained several decibels, and he was feeling the distinct desire to hiss at his brother.

Jake pinned his ears back. "Geez, man, you don't need to scream, I heard you. But...seriously? You actually felt that?"

"Well, yeah," Tom nodded, "I _was_ concentrating pretty hard though, just in case."

"Do you think it has something to do with the avatars?" Jake asked, "I mean, could the twin thing be strengthened somehow from the transferring thing?"

"How would I know? Not my area of expertise," Tom pointed out, trying not to lose track of the original topic.

"Well, we could always test it," Jake pointed out.

"How do you propose we do that?" Tom wondered, distracted, for the moment, from the good head of mad he'd been working up to.

"Oh, I think I have an idea," Jake grinned evilly as he picked up a nearby stick and poked his twin hard in the kidneys. "Ow!" he frowned, "I _did_ feel that!"

"Dummy, of course you did!" Tom slapped the stick away. His mad was back now. Definitely back. He shoved Jake backward. "What the hell were you thinking? That really hurt!"

"I was testing a theory," Jake shrugged, "isn't that what you science geeks love to do?"

"Oh is that what you were doing? Well then, why don't I test it too?" Tom pinched both his brother's ears. "Aw shit! That hurt! Well this sucks, there's no point brawling any more if it's only gonna hurt both of us."

"I can ignore pain," Jake laughed, tugging at his brother's braids, "can you?"

"It's just mind over matter," Tom pointed out, "I wonder, though, if you can ignore..._this_!" His hands quickly got busy on all the sensitive spots he'd always known, trying to tickle his brother into submission.

* * *

Ninat and Neytiri had been sitting chatting since both their charges were busy preparing for the upcoming celebration when Ninat suddenly frowned.

"_They are making far more noise than they should be,_" she said to Neytiri, "_Do you think we ought to check on them?_"

"_Perhaps that would be best,_" Neytiri agreed. "_Even though they look like adults they really are still children._"

"_They are males,_" Ninat laughed, "_All males are eternal children. That is why Eywa created females; to ensure that the males did not all simply kill each other through foolish accidents._"

Once they came within view of the area, the two quickly hid themselves to watch. The boys were rolling around on the ground, both laughing helplessly and both tickling each other.

Ninat giggled as she watched, then turned to Neytiri. "_We had better reign them in,_" she pointed out, "_and I think we had also better put on our stern faces. Our amusement would only encourage them, and they do have work to do._"

"_Stern faces would be best, I agree,_" Neytiri nodded, then schooled her features before stepping into the clearing.

"_What are you boys doing?_" Ninat sighed as she stepped out as well. "_You were supposed to be discussing iknimaya, not rolling around on the ground._"

Neytiri leaned over and gripped Jake by the ear, firmly. Both Sully boys yelped, and Jake quickly stood to relieve the pressure.

"_Do you need constant supervision?_" Neytiri said, "_I could take you to where the mothers watch over the young children, if you wish._"

"_Tom!_" Ninat hissed as she dragged him to his feet as well, "_Look at the mess you have made of your hair! Now I am going to have to fix it again._"

"_I'm okay, I'm okay,_" he said quickly, "_you don't have to fix it just now, wouldn't it be better to wait until tomorrow just in case it gets messed up again?_"

"_No that is quite alright,_" Ninat sat him down, "_I will fix your hair while Jake tells his story, and Neytiri will make sure he does not do anything foolish, since apparrently he still needs supervision._"

Neytiri grinned. "_And of course I will correct any details he forgets,_" she added.

Ninat quickly assessed Tom's hair once she had him sitting and decided that only the front braids really needed fixing. She sat behind him and angled his head back, her fingers working quickly to fix them before Tom became too agitated, and Jake took up the tale again from where he'd left off.

* * *

Getting back to Site 12 with three sickly thanator cubs hadn't been easy, but they had managed it. Taka carried the male the whole way, and the two females traded off, one walking while the other was carried in Louise's arms until the one walking got tired and needed a rest. Then, of course, once they'd reached the research site a place had to be found for the cubs to sleep. For now, they had been put in the hut where the avatars rested when they were empty, although it had taken some fast talking to get Carlos to agree to that. It was only when Taka explained that their teeth weren't strong enough to even cut flesh properly yet that he'd conceded..._for now_, but he was fiercely protective of his avatar body and didn't want to chance losing it to baby predators, even if only through something accidental.

Taka and Louise had very carefully explained to the babies that they were going to lie down and go to sleep, and that when their bodies slept the babies would not be able to wake them quickly, so if they needed anything they were to cry loud enough that they could be heard inside the modules. They didn't try to actually explain mind transferrence, but they did say that if the babies linked to them while they were sleeping they would seem empty, and that they had other bodies they went to while they slept. It was a little like trying to explain the concept to three-year-olds, but they at least succeeded in reassuring the cubs that they wouldn't be "meat" and that they would "wake up" if they were needed, and ultimately that was all that mattered.

Once they were out of their link beds, however, Louise grabbed Taka by the arm and spun him toward her.

"What the HELL were you THINKING?" she railed at him, "What if you'd nicked a vein and bled out! How would that have helped anything?"

"I wouldn't have nicked a vein," he shook his head, "I deliberately avoided the undersides of the arms for that very reason."

"But you still could have!" she shook her head, "and what if I hadn't been able to find you in time? What then?"

"But you did find me in time," he said calmly, advancing on her in such a way that she instinctively backed up. It took only a few steps in the cramped quarters before she hit the outer wall of the module. "I've told you before, _bakemon-chan_, I'm not going anywhere, so you had better just get used to that idea."

He leaned in to kiss her and she pushed him away. She was still _furious_ with him, after all. It didn't work for long, though. He just caught her arms and pressed them back against the wall as he leaned in again and kissed her until all the fight melted out of her. He really was damned good at kissing, she had to admit. And somewhere along the way he had discovered her weakness for a little light bondage; a weakness she wished he didn't know, as he took advantage of it every chance he got.

Unfortunately as her anger waned, the fear she'd been using it to cover came to the fore, and she started to shake. It was embarrassing, quite frankly. She pulled out of the kiss by turning her head away, closing her eyes and refusing to look at him. She didn't want him to see the fear and - worse than that - the need that she was sure was obvious in her expression right now. Not that it wasn't clear he had apparently already guessed what her major problem was - had always been - with men. They left. Whether they left because they got bored of her or they left because they got hurt (or died...but she didn't want to think about that), they _always_ left eventually. She'd gotten so tired of people she cared about leaving that she had decided years ago to always make sure to be the one to leave first, or drive them away before she cared enough for them to really get into her heart, so nobody else could ever hurt her like that again. He was...making it really hard not to want him to stay, and that scared the shit out of her.

He shifted his grip so that both her wrists were pinned together by one hand and turned her face very gently back toward his, although she still kept her eyes closed, refusing to look at him.

"I promise I'll do my best not to frighten you like that again," he breathed softly against her ear, "but you have to promise me something too. You have to promise to trust me, Louise."

The way he said her name made her shiver slightly. God! How did this man know how to push all the right buttons so well? If he wasn't so frickin' adorable it would really piss her off.

"Do you promise to trust that I know what I'm doing?" he pressed, leaning in so close against her she didn't dare move.

She bit her lip and moaned softly in helpless frustration before she finally conceded. She...actually did trust him, as crazy as that was. "I promise," she nodded, mortified to realize there was a tear or two rolling down her cheeks.

"Good," he nodded, "and I promise one more thing. You aren't going to be able to scare me off. I've already seen what the _bakemono_ can do, and none of it would ever make me want to leave. But then what can I say? Clearly I have a possibly less than sane fondness for terrifying monsters who need me." He gently thumbed away her tears and kissed her into submission again, taking full advantage of the fact that he had her in a very compromising position against the wall as he ground himself against her.

Although they'd been...well, she supposed she might say "going out", for weeks now, and had even slept together in the same bed, they still hadn't properly _slept_ together, and the anticipation was driving Louise nuts. Which was probably entirely his intention. Taka, she had quickly learned, was a sneaky manipulative bastard of the very best sort. He'd figured out all her usual tricks and stubbornly refused to fall into any of the traps she set for men. It was...impressive. But still very, very frustrating. Especially at moments like these when she could feel how hard he was against her and could only imagine how good that hardness would feel sinking into her. Frankly, she'd wanted him inside her from that very first night of the party, but he stubbornly refused to budge on the issue, insisting the "time was not right" every time she almost had his boxers down.

Still, that didn't stop her from grabbing every opportunity she could. Letting him support her balance momentarily she brought one leg up around his hips, half-wishing she was in her other body right now so she could use her tail to pull him even closer.

"I've been very hard on you, haven't I, _koi_," he purred as he let go of her hands to rub her thigh instead.

"You're driving me to distraction to the point of going insane," she nodded, "God, Taka, _please_! Don't I deserve a reward for everything you put me through today?"

"Hmm..." he mumbled thoughtfully as he slid his hands back up her thighs and under the waistband of her pants, "I don't know about that, but a reward for trusting me? That I can agree to." He cupped his hands under her ass and lifted her other leg off the ground as well, and she wrapped it around him, clinging to him as he carried her from the link module into the sleeping module they shared.

* * *

Taka was so distracted by kissing his way down Louise's body that he almost didn't realize what the yowling sound outside meant. Groaning softly, he leaned his forehead against her hip. "Wouldn't you just know it," he sighed.

"Welcome to parenthood," she said, slumping back on the bed before pushing herself up. "We'd better go see what they need, but you _owe_ me, "Daddy" and you'd better not forget that."

"You don't have to come out with me," he kissed her forehead before getting to his feet.

"Hey, I'm Mommy, it's my job too," she laughed as she pulled her sweatshirt over her head, not bothering with putting her bra back on.

"If you say so, Mommy," he grinned, pulling her against him from behind and slipping his hands up her top for one last squeeze before pushing her toward the link beds.

Once they were linked up, he rolled off the side of the cot his avatar slept on and went to see what was wrong. It was the male cub. He'd been sick on the floor and was looking very dejected and apologetic.

"What happened?" he asked the more adventuresome female when she stepped close to link up with him.

«_Brother made sick-up,_» she said, «_and he said is thirsty. And he sorry he made bad-smell sick-up in den. He made sick-up too fast to go outside._»

"It's not his fault," Taka soothed, "You're all still very weak, I should have known something like this might happen. Don't worry, I'll clean it up for him and then I'll go get him some more food. We'll just have to make sure he eats slower this time." He looked up to see that Louise had already gotten two buckets of water and was gently washing down the male cub, who was nuzzling weakly against her. "Thanks, Mommy," he leaned over to kiss the top of her head before tackling the unenviable but familiar task of cleaning up after young animals.

* * *

After they'd gone over the events of Jhake's _iknimaya_ three or four times, making sure no details had been missed, it was time for lunch, and after lunch, the new hunters had to fly again, to learn more of the intricacies of the bond between each of them and their _ikran_. For now, Neytiri left the teaching to Tsu'tey, as she had a different, also very important project to complete before tomorrow night's ceremony. Jhake needed a visor, and she had quickly offered to be the one to make it.

She was...confused, though, and she wished there was someone she could talk to. Initially she had been furious about being forced to teach Jhake, then accepting of the burden placed upon her by both her mother and Eywa, but now... Jhake was no longer a burden; he was becoming a strong, competent man, even showing signs of being an exceptional hunter, and somehow spending time with him had become a pleasure rather than a chore. She could see the man he would become after _uniltaron_ and the thought of him choosing a woman made her feel extremely edgy. She knew, of course, that he could not choose her - that would be wrong, and she would have to refuse him if she did such a thing. Whether she liked the idea or not, she was promised to Tsu'tey, and she did not want to upset the balance, but at the same time, if she had been free...

She shook her head. Thoughts like that were foolish and did noone any good at all. She was not free, and so he would not choose her. She would just have to keep her eyes open to find some...other woman...to suggest to him. She was taking the place of parent for him, after all, and as parent her role was to guide him into a happy and balanced mating... She just wished the thought of that did not hurt so much.

Neytiri forced herself to turn her thoughts, instead, to Txom. Ninat was clearly on the hunt, and she hoped the apprentice singer would return her friend's feelings. Neytiri could see that they would make a wonderful match, although she suspected their tendency to get lost in the details of things might mean they sometimes forgot to eat a meal or three. She laughed. Poor Txom was as jumpy as a half-grown _yerik_ fawn every time Ninat touched him. She was going to have to ask what could have possibly caused that. After the ceremony though. Before then Ninat would be far too busy coaching him and practicing the song he was to sing. She had to admit she was curious what his voice would sound like when he sang. She had never heard a male _uniltìranyu_ sing before, only the females...well, actually, really only Ka'tsi. The songs Ka'tsi sang were different from those of the Na'vi, but they were similar as well. And hauntingly beautiful, especially when she sang in that language that was not _Ìnglisi_. What did she call it again? Oh yes, _Ngailìke._

* * *

Formation flying was done for the day, which made Jake glad, frankly, since Tsu'tey insisted on flying next to him, and that made him edgy, which made his banshee edgy, which wasn't a good thing. Instead of flying in formation, Tsu'tey had told them they could each fly out on their own, but that they were to stay within sight of the big floating mountain where the majority of the banshees hung out. Luckily that particular chunk of levitating rock just happened to be very obviously visible and the clouds were high today, which meant that Jake could also see the sunlight (or should that be centaruilight or something? Whatever. It was a sun, if not _the_ sun, he could still call it "sunlight" if he wanted) glinting off the side of the shack where his body was sleeping. He figured Trudy'd appreciate the awesomeness of flying more than anyone else he had to talk to just now, so he looked in that direction and gave his banshee the suggestion that it looked like an interesting spot to explore.

He figured he really ought to give the big flying lizard-thing a name, but nothing had come to him yet, and an awesome creature like he was deserved an equally awesome name. He'd think of something eventually, these things just took time.

They did a circuit over the flat area where the shack was, and Jake could see that Trudy was bent over something on the forward part of her Sampson, doing repairs or maybe just fiddling and tweaking. He brought his banshee in for a landing between her and the shack, startling Trudy, who spun and started to reach for her gun before she recognized him.

"Damnit, Jake!" she swore, "a little warning would've been nice so I didn't almost shit myself thinking one of those wild banshees had decided I looked like a nice afternoon snack."

Jake laughed and hopped down, although he didn't disconnect his queue. He didn't want to chance his boy getting spooked from being around a human and human machines and that kind of stuff. "How d'you like my new ride?" he asked, grinning unrepentantly.

"Not too bad," Trudy shook her head, "if you like that kind of thing. How's he handle in the air?" she asked, coming a little closer.

"Like a jet fighter," Jake said proudly, stroking a hand over the banshee's head. "You might wanna be careful though, don't look at him in the eye, they get pissed when you do that, and you'd be just a light snack to him if he decided he didn't like the look of you."

"Well no shit," she rolled her eyes. "That why you're still all hooked up to him an' whatnot?"

"Yeah, I figure we've only known each other a day or so, he's still gotta learn to trust my judgment," Jake shrugged. "Can't say I blame him, I'm only a little batshit insane sometimes."

That made Trudy laugh. "Only sometimes, hm? Whatever you say, blue boy. So how d'ya like flying on your own?"

"It's awesome," Jake sighed, "really incredible. I mean, it's like I was _born_ to fly! An' he's showing me all kinda stuff about air currents and stuff like that, it's weird, but it feels incredible. Especially yesterday when Neytiri showed me how to do barrel rolls. You'd love it Trudy, the wind in your hair, the negative G's... Maybe when this guy and I know each other better I'll take you for a ride or something."

Trudy glanced over at the banshee and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah thanks for the thought," she said, "but I think I'll stick to my baby here. No offense but I kinda prefer to be the one in the pilot's seat."

That made Jake laugh. "Yeah, sure," he said, "but just think about it, the offer's always open." He saw a flash of cobalt blue out of the corner of his eye and looked over to see that Tsu'tey had found him and was gesturing back toward their base of operations with a scowl on his face. He rolled his eyes, but remounted, waving to Trudy. "Anyway looks like I'd better get going," he said, "seeya later." He gave the command to fly and with two strong wingbeats his banshee was aloft again and turning to follow close behind Tsu'tey's.

* * *

That night when Jake woke out of link Grace was still in her Avatar working on some experiment that needed to be done in the dark for some reason, and Norm was sitting at the table with two plates of something that pretended to be called food, clearly waiting for him.

"So Trudy said you dropped by today," Norm started as he tucked his 'chair in close and poked at the pseudofood with a fork.

"Yup," Jake nodded. "Had some flying practice so I figured I might as well say Hi and stuff."

"I would've liked to see that," Norm grinned, "I'm still stunned the _ikran_ didn't just eat you instead of letting you ride it."

"Him," Jake corrected, "and what can I say, I've got this winning personality, everybody loves me." He fluttered his eyelashes at Norm, who just rolled his eyes. "You wanna tell me the favour now, or did you wanna flirt some more first?"

"Favour?" Norm blinked at him.

"Well it's obvious you were leading up to something," Jake pointed out, "and I highly doubt you're suddenly bored with girls and macking after me for some kinda sordid homo thing, so I figured you must want a favour."

Norm had unfortunately just lifted his glass of water to his mouth and taken a sip as Jake spoke, and he spluttered and coughed out the water he'd accidentally inhaled, and had to take a moment to get his powers of speech back. "It's not so much a favour as a suggestion," he said finally. "I was thinking... Trudy'd really love to see Hometree, and maybe you could ask if she could come for your hunter induction ceremony as a guest."

"You think she'd want to?" Jake looked surprised. "I could ask I guess. Worst that could happen is they say no. It'd be cool to have her there, I mean, of all you guys here she's the one that really knows what it's like to fly, you know?" He nodded slowly to himself. "Yeah, I think I'd really like to have her there. Well, both of you, but you know you were already invited, right?"

"Thanks," Norm flushed slightly, "I'd hoped I could come but I know I'm not...as close with the Omatikaya as you are."

"Sorry," Jake said, "I know you'd planned to be the one who got relations going again, and I kinda kicked that plan all to hell on you without even meaning to."

"Naw," Norm shrugged, smiling, "it wasn't your fault. Frankly, if it'd been me with the thanator chasing me I would've just been dead, rather than lost and then found by Neytiri. You really were the right man. For that job, anyway."

That made Jake laugh. "Alright. First thing tomorrow morning I'll go talk to Mo'at and find out if Trudy can come hang with us for the party."

"Thanks," Norm grinned, "now you'd better eat then do your log or Grace'll wake you up when she unlinks and make you do it then."

"Right," Jake took a forkful of goop and shoveled it in, swallowing quickly so he didn't have to really taste it.

* * *

Somewhere around the middle of the night, Louise drifted awake to the awareness of movement around her as Taka slipped into her bunk beside her.

"Thank you," he whispered, "for helping with the babies." He smoothed her hair out of the way and placed a light kiss just below her ear.

"I didn't mind," she chuckled as she rolled over to look at him, "like I told you, they're my babies too, they even said so."

"Still, they did interrupt something," he stroked her back.

"Did they?" she yawned, "I hadn't noticed."

"No?" His fingers tickled against the small of her back as he slowly drew her nightgown up, and then his hand smoothed over her now-bare backside. "I think you might not be being entirely truthful, _koi_."

"What would make you think that?" she asked, trying to keep her voice even. It wasn't an easy task, though, not with the way his hand was moving.

"Oh, I just have this strange suspicion," he shrugged and let his fingers dip between her legs.

She bit her lip to keep from moaning. "Taka," she whispered, "the others are just on the next room over."

"Well then we'll just have to do this like any new parents," he laughed lightly, "really quietly in the moments we can steal."

That made her laugh as well. "I'm still not quite sure how we ended up as parents to three deadly predators," she said.

"Enough talking," he shook his head, leaning in to kiss her and then rolling them carefully so she was on her back

Louise felt her heart start to race as she returned his kiss with a low groan, staying as quiet as she possibly could.

"You deserve better than having to hide this," he sighed as he trailed kisses over her neck and collarbones.

"Yeah well blame the company," she said ruefully, "not my policy we're flying in the face of here."

"Shh..." he kissed her on the lips, "the only people in this bed are you and me, no RDA allowed."

"You got it," she smiled brightly up at him, even though she knew he wouldn't really be able to see her expression, given that the only illumination in the room came from the window at the far end that was lit by the faintly glowing bioluminescence of the forest outside.

As he continued to kiss her, he gently rearranged her legs so that her knees were bent and her hips cradled his own. It was only then that she realized there were no boxers getting in the way between them. He must have stripped before even getting into bed, and she'd been so hazy from sleep she hadn't even noticed. "Are you ready to be rewarded for placing your trust in me?" he breathed against her ear, making her shiver.

"I am _so_ ready," she whimpered softly, "Please, Taka."

"And you realize this is not just for fun," he pointed out as she felt him ease into position, although he didn't push forward yet, "I am doing this because I treasure what is in our pasts, what we share now, and what we can build together in the future, not just as a mindless release."

"If I wanted a mindless release," she giggled quietly, "I wouldn't bother with a man, I'd be digging out my joystick. I appreciate that I'm not just yours, that I mean more to you than just...release."

"So much more," he agreed as he sank into her with a groan, "so very much more you have no idea, _koi_."

As she rode the waves of escalating pleasure they were creating between them, Louise felt something she hadn't felt since her first fumbling explorations with a boy when she'd been fifteen...love. They weren't just obeying biological imperative here and having sex, they were making love, and she realized now that the difference was...immense.

* * *

Curled up in her _nivi_ high in the branches of the _Kelutral_ of the Anurai clan, a young woman was sleeping peacefully. Her dreams were the calm, uneventful dreams of any unmated female, and there was a soft smile on her face...until an _atokirina_ floated over to her, landing delicately on the tip of her ear and pulsing faintly.

The young woman frowned as her dream shifted, becoming strange and unfamiliar.

She was walking through the forest, but it was a changed place, the air filled with a lingering scent of smoke and the ground covered in a thick blanket of ashes. She looked down at her hands and realized she was carrying a pottery vessel. It was badly cracked, and from those cracks a sort of luminous silvery smoke was leaking, spilling over her fingers and clinging to them. It seemed almost liquid except that it had no substance, and as it fell toward the ground it simply disappeared.

She made as though to dash the cracked vessel against a nearby burned-out tree limb - after all, a piece so badly damaged was of no use to anyone, and would be better off being re-purposed into mosaic tiles or beads, but as she looked at it she realized that to shatter such a beautifully made piece would be a sadness far greater than any she had felt in her life. The sides, where they were not marred by the cracks, were as smooth as volcanic glass, and the glaze was all done in rare colours the Anurai almost never used due to the difficulty of working with and obtaining them. They had to be traded for, as the minerals which produced them were not found in Anurai territory, and those clans who did possess them had to go to great lengths to find and secure them, so their price in trade was high.

The mottled coppery-vermilion shade of the vessel was highly glossed, so much so that she could almost see herself reflected within, her face distorted by the convex curve of it, and she felt tears trickling down her cheeks. It was heart-breaking! A vessel so well-made should NEVER have been allowed to be damaged like this! If she found the one responsible, she was going to take her clay-knife and sink it deep within their heart for so disrespecting the work of a master of her craft! Perhaps even with such cracks, though, the vessel could still serve some decorative purpose, or maybe it could be used as a teaching tool, to show the young apprentices what true craftsmanship looked like.

She ran her thumbs regretfully over the cracks, and was stunned to realize that everywhere she caressed, the cracks began to seal over as though they were never there. The glaze showed where the smoke/water/substance had touched it, but the silvery whorls only added to the beauty of the vessel, and when every tiny hairline fracture was erased, the woman cradled the vessel close against her bosom, an incredible sense of both relief and responsibility washing over her. She would treasure this vessel, using it with care and ensuring it was never abused as it so clearly had been before.

"_Srane,_" a voice spoke upon the wind, stirring the ashes to reveal a badly damaged but still living bough of _utral aymokriyä_. "_I See you, heart-sister,_" the voice said, "_and I entrust him to you. You will know when the time is right what to do. Your heart already waits for him, as his waits for you without knowing, but...his healing will take time._"

The woman felt the vessel pressed against her chest begin to flow and change, and when she held it out to see what was happening it wasn't pottery at all, but a beating heart. She almost dropped it in shock, but when she blinked momentarily it shifted again and there was a man standing before her, tall and proud. She did not know him, but when he took her in his arms that didn't seem to matter. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him in turn, feeling, for the first time in her life, that there was some purpose for her beyond the everyday. She drew in the scent of the man, committing it to memory, so that if she ever met him again she would know him. He never spoke, never made a sound, but she felt him tuck her head under his chin and nuzzle against her, and her heart almost broke for the second time as the dream began to fade, turning to insubstantial wisps of smoke around her.

She whimpered and rolled over as the _atokirina_ left, floating away on the breeze back to wherever it was meant to go. Her eyes opened in time to catch it leaving, although, hazy from sleep, it didn't occur to her what had happened until she closed her eyes again to try to recapture the dream and the man who had been in it. She found that she couldn't remember his features at all, or any detail about him except to say that he had been tall, and his arms had been strong. She had no memory of his face, but she desperately wanted to remember. She knew it was important, somehow. In the morning, she decided, she would have to speak to the Tsahìk. There had been something _different_ about that dream, something that stank of things only a Tsahìk-trained should know, and she might be many things, but she was not that.

As she slipped again into sleep, she realized there was one thing about the man that was still clear. His scent. She breathed deep and it seemed to surround her again, as though he was her _nivi_, his arms encircling her and urging her to sleep. Slowly she drifted away again, back to her usual calm, uneventful dreams, but the scent still tingled at the edges of her awareness, and it was...right.

* * *

**Whew! An intense chapter, that one! But never fear, next chapter we have a bit of a party coming up (although with big stress for poor Tom. He'll survive though, even though he might think his head will explode from the nervousness of singing in front of everybody)**

**Anyway, you aren't here for me to pontificate at you, you're reading this far because you want the vocab!**

**so here it is:**

**Vocab:**

**Na'vi:**  
_**iknimaya**_** - "stairway to heaven", rite of passage to become a hunter**  
_**ikran**_** - "walks the heavens", big lizard/bird the Na'vi ride**  
_**uniltaron**_** - "dream hunt", rite of passage of adulthood**  
_**yerik**_** - hexapede, the Na'vi deer**  
_**uniltìranyu**_** - "dreamwalker", avatar**  
_**Ìnglisi -**_** English language**  
_**Ngailìke**_** - This one I made myself, obeying Na'vi conventions, it's Irish Gaelic or, more properly "an Gaeilge"**  
_**nivi - **_**hammock**  
_**Kelutral**_** - Hometree**  
_**atokirina**_** - Eywa's little messengers ^_~**  
_**srane**_** - yes**  
_**utral aymokriyä**_** - Tree of Voices, where the Na'vi go to speak to their ancestors and pray directly to Eywa**  
_**Tsahìk**_** - spiritual leader, priestess, interpreter of the will of Eywa**

**Japanese:**  
_**bakemon-chan**_** - an affectionate pet name, literally means something close to "my little monster"**  
_**bakemono**_** - monster/spirit/ghost**  
_**koi - **_**love**


	20. Chapter 19: A Song of Earth and Sky

**Hello everyone! Sorry this chapter took so very long. I'd been hoping to get it out before I had to go halfway across the country for my brother's wedding but funny thing, wedding prep took priority...**

**Anyway, Tom is finally going to sing for us, and Jake doesn't particularly like the spotlight either, but that's just too bad for both of them ;)  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 19 - A Song of Earth and Sky

First thing the next morning, even before he grabbed breakfast around the fires, Jake headed to find Mo'at and ask her about Trudy being allowed to visit for the ceremony...

"This is no small thing you ask, Jhake," Mo'at frowned as she looked at the youngling sitting across from her, "For us to allow one of the sky people to set foot inside _Kelutral_ is not something to be considered lightly, even with the closeness you and the other..._aysoktor_ are fostering. This one you speak of, Trru'ti...she is _tsamsiyu_, a warrior, is she not?"

"She is, kinda," Jake admitted, "but she's got more ties to me and the science types than the rest of the sec-ops...um, the warrior clan of the sky people here," he clarified. "She's also part of the Jarhead clan like me, but that's not the main reason I was hoping you'd let her come. More than being a warrior, she's a pilot. Um, that's a person who makes a _kunsìp_ fly. Anyway, she's the only real friend and I guess you'd say "clan-sister" who knows what it's like to have the freedom of the air. That's why I wanna have her here to share this with me."

Mo'at nodded thoughtfully. "There could be some danger to her in allowing her to come. Had you considered that, Jhake? Not all of the People trust the intentions of the sky people, with good reason, and it is possible that while she is here, an...accident might happen. Or, one might say, be arranged to happen."

"I understand," Jake sighed and lowered his head, "it's too much too soon."

Mo'at chuckled softly. "I have raised three children, Jhake, _nantang'ewan_ ears do not sway me." She flicked his cutely-drooped ear. "I did not say that I would not approve a visit, only that she would have to be closely watched, for her own safety."

That made Jake chuckle in turn. "Do you think Norm would let her out of his sight?" he shook his head, "not too likely." He kindof wondered what she meant when she said she'd raised _three_ kids, but he knew it was hardly the time to ask about such a personal thing.

"If he is willing to take responsibility for her while she is here then I will allow it," Mo'at said finally, "but he is not to let her wander, and he must take her back to her proper place before mid-night."

"I'll tell them right now," Jake grinned, jumping to his feet, "Thanks, Mo'at!"

The Omatikaya Tsahìk sighed as she watched him go. One could almost forget, being around him, that he was a _tawtute_-trained warrior. He seemed far too young and carefree, but she remembered well the essence of him that she had taken in when Neytiri first brought him to her, and she knew there was a dark sadness that lived within him. She only hoped his time among the People would lift enough of that sadness that when the time came, he would know how to do the right thing, as Eywa intended. She still id not entirely understand why the all-mother had chosen this _tawtute uniltìranyu_ as the vessel of her will, but if there was one thing Mo'at had learned in all her years as Tsahìk it was that although the pathways might seem strange and murky, in the end, Eywa always had a plan, and that plan could be trusted.

* * *

"_Okay, so remind me again?_" Tom bit his lip as he tried to calm himself down, "_first, the children's song, then each of us sings about how our particular new hunter came to be ready for iknimaya..._"

"_That is right,_" Ninat nodded, resisting the urge to stroke his nervously flicking tail. At this point that would probably only make him _more_ jumpy rather than less, "_and after that, all will sing the song of the ikran, then it will be time for you to sing the tale of how Jake and his ikran became one._"

"_Which I think I pretty much have down,_" he nodded, "_but it's the last bit that really has me worried, I mean, the bit about hopes for the future. Ours are really different, in some ways, from yours._"

"_Do not let that worry you, Tom,_" she smiled, and caved ever-so-slightly to temptation by placing her hand soothingly over his where he was fussing with the beads on his arm-band, "_Jake is, after all, uniltìranyu, it is expected that there will be differences. Just choose those hopes which make the most sense to you and all will be well._"

"_If you say so,_" he said, shaking his head.

"_I do say so. Now, why don't we run through your each of your solos here, where no-one but me will hear them. That way when it comes time to sing them before the group you can close your eyes and forget anyone else is there but you and me._"

"_Alright_," he agreed with a small, hopeful smile, "_and if I make any mistakes please let me know. I'd rather know now than have it talked about later._"

"_I will not let you falter, Tom_," she assured him firmly, going completely into "teacher" mode now, taking both his hands in hers and correcting his posture, "_Now, I believe you are stalling._"

"_Right,_" he nodded, then closed his eyes and began to sing.

* * *

The first thing Taka had done when he woke up was to check on the results of the tests he'd set running the night before for each of the cubs. If any of them was seriously ill beyond simple starvation, he wanted to know as soon as possible so he could stop things before they spiraled out of control.

The male's immune response levels were a little higher than his two sisters, as if he was fighting something off, but whatever it was looked to be under control, at least to the best of his ability to extrapolate. After all, he'd never had living thanators to take samples from before.

"How does it look?" Louise asked, coming up behind him and draping herself over his shoulders with a yawn.

"Looks okay for now," he said, turning his head to kiss her cheek, "but I'm going to need to monitor the male for a little while just to make sure he's out of the woods."

"Mm..." she agreed. "They need real names," she added with a slight frown, "we can't just keep calling them "the male" and "the first female and the second female" you know."

"I know," he chuckled. "I'll think of something. I have an idea, actually, if you agree."

"Well I don't know until you tell me," she shook her head, "once I've heard your idea I'll let you know if it passes Mommy's high standards."

"Alright," he laughed. "I was thinking back to the stories my parents used to tell me when I was little, about what Japan was like before most of it disappeared, and they told me about the Shinto spirits, gods, whatever you want to call it. Three of the most important ones were the sun, the moon and the storms on the sea. Two sisters and a brother."

"Sounding good so far," Louise nodded thoughtfully, squeezing him briefly, "what're their names?"

"Amaterasu is the sun goddess, Tsukiyomi is the moon, and their brother is Susano'o. While they're little though I'd probably keep them short. They're good, noble names, but they _are_ a bit of a mouthful."

"And the sounds work for the Na'vi to say as well," Louise pointed out. "I hadn't really thought about it, but there are quite a few similar sounds between Japanese and Na'vi, aren't there? So short versions would be Ama, Tsuki and...Susa?" She frowned. "That doesn't really work for a boy's name. And making it longer doesn't help, because then it'd be "Susan" and _really _not a boy's name!"

"Not Susa," he chuckled, "although you guessed the other two right. For the boy Sano is a good, boyish Japanese name."

"Ah," she smiled, "yeah, that sounds a lot better. I kinda like it, Ama, Tsuki and Sano. Plus I don't have any better suggestions, so Daddy gets to pick the names."

"This time," he grinned.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You're expecting there to be a next time?"

He shrugged. "You never know," he pointed out. "Anything can happen."

"True enough," she shook her head ruefully and let go of him. "I'm gonna go get some coffee before I link up, you want any?"

"No thanks," he shrugged, "I had some already, and if I want to get everything done that I need to get done today I'm going to have to get going on it."

"Oh?" she paused on her way to the galley area, "what do you have to get done?"

"Well, I figured I should start on a proper den for the cubs," he pointed out, "but before that, we're going to need meat, or they are anyway. Thanators are clearly apex predators and obligate carnivores, and there's no way what's left of that hexapede is going to last beyond the next day or so between the three of them, so it looks like I'm going to need to learn how to hunt."

"Oh," she nodded, "I hadn't even thought of that. Couldn't we just get Cathy to tell the folks at Hometree that we need more meat?"

"I'd rather not," he shook his head; "if I can possibly manage to do this on my own I'd rather handle it. I don't want to be always dependant on the Na'vi. Besides which, they might not be so happy about providing meat to help the one predator they're most afraid of in the entire forest, balance of Eywa or not." He put the computer into sleep mode and stood, stretching.

"Okay," she nodded, coming back over to give him a hug, "Good luck then, big strong hunter-man; go get some fresh meat for your family."

"I have other plans for later," he whispered as he pulled her briefly against him before kissing her, then turning her and pushing her toward the galley. "I'll see you when I get back."

"See you then," she waved over her shoulder as she started fussing with the coffeemaker.

* * *

Once he had the okay, Jake had gone back up to his _nivi_ and curled up before unlinking. He'd considered just finding a quiet place near the base of Hometree but the last thing he wanted was someone finding his "unconscious" body and freaking out.

He lifted the lid of his link bed and sat up, but he didn't bother hauling himself out into his 'chair. He didn't plan on being out of link that long if he didn't have to be. "Hey Trudy!" he called out, hoping she was still somewhere inside.

"Be right there!" he heard her voice echo in from the living quarters, and he grinned to himself as she peeked her head into the link room, looking more than a little disheveled. "What's up?" she asked, yawning.

"Aside from you around the crack of noon?" he laughed. "You're getting soft, marine."

"Says you," she made a face at him, stalking over to him, "I could still kick your ass from here all the way back to Hell's Gate with both arms and one leg tied behind me."

"You only wish," he grinned at her. "If you did that, though, you wouldn't get to come to the party tonight."

"Party?" she blinked.

"I did a little fast talking and got you an invite for tonight," he explained. "Seeing as how you're the only one of my "family" that knows what it's like to fly."

That shut her up pretty quick. She just stared at him for a minute, then shook her head. "It's too damn early for you to be messing with me."

"Not messing with you," his grin slid into a genuine smile, "Mo'at says you have to stay with Norm at all times for your own safety, and you have to be gone before midnight, but other than that you're invited to the party if you want to come."

"Hell yes I want to come!" she grinned, then ran her fingers through her hair. "Shit. I gotta get myself prettied up a bit. You go back to your big blue girlfriend, I'll see you later," she pushed him back down into the link bed. "Nighty-night, Jakey-boy!"

Opening his eyes again back at Hometree, Jake just laid on his back in his _nivi_ and laughed.

* * *

Taka hardly dared breathe as he watched the hexapede drinking from a small pond. He was incredibly proud of himself for managing to track the deer-like herbivore, and he didn't want to risk startling it and having to start all over again. The babies were hungry, after all.

Ever-so-slowly he raised the rifle to his shoulder and took aim, trying to keep a mental picture of hexapede anatomy so he would know where to place the shot for a quick, clean kill. He took one final deep breath, telling himself it was no different from shooting a tranq gun. He squeezed the trigger and yelped at the bruising force of the rifle's kick, but he saw the hexapede fall. He darted in, hoping he wouldn't have to shoot it again, but he quickly realized that it was, indeed dead.

He knelt next to the animal and placed a hand on its head. "I'm sorry I don't know the right words," he said softly, "but rest peacefully knowing your sacrifice will help three precious children to live, and may your spirit roam with Eywa's love." He gently closed its eyes, then realized he wasn't quite sure what the next step should be. Anytime they had been brought meat it had been already processed. From what he could remember of discussion about human hunting practices, he should cut it open in the field and get rid of the internal organs, but...he also knew that those same internal organs would be one of the best, most nutritious things for the children. One way or another, though, he definitely knew he should take the bullet out.

Which was a very messy, disgusting process. He ended up with both his hands covered in blood and it took about fifteen minutes or so to be sure he'd gotten all the bullet and the destroyed tissue. He suddenly became aware of just how much temptation he was putting into the air for the local predators. He was on borrowed time until he got back to camp and he knew it, so, not seeing any other option, he picked up the carcass and slung it over his shoulders. Shit, that was heavy. Maybe he should've brought Louise or Carlos to help him carry his meat home.

Well, he'd know better for next time. He shifted the body to balance it better and headed off home.

* * *

Louise first realized Taka was on his way back when the babies came out of their "den" with their sensory quills extended, making low, crooning noises. She looked in the direction they were looking, and finally caught sight of her "man". She almost flew into a panic. He was COVERED in blood, and looked exhausted. She dropped what she was doing and hurried over to him, and he grinned at her.

"Look!" he said proudly, "I got food for the babies on my first try!"

"I'm very proud of you," she said, "but you're not coming anywhere near me until you've had a bath. And next time? Bleed the animal before you carry it home, would you?"

"Oh," he blinked. "I guess that might be a good idea, then we wouldn't end up with me covered in blood and leaving a mess all over."

The babies crowded around him, crooning and licking at the blood on his pants.

"Come on, babies, let's take you in and get you fed," Taka smiled.

"You are NOT bringing that into the bunk house," Louise said firmly.

* * *

Once Trudy had decided that she was ready, she headed down to the forest house. For once, she was really glad her _chiich_ had insisted that even if a girl was doing a man's job she should always carry one nice outfit with her just in case. Flying with a full skirt on was a little awkward but not too bad really. Besides, she couldn't wait to see Norm's face when she showed up actually dressed fancy.

Down at the forest house, she grinned as she saw Norm heading toward her with a frown.

"What're you doing?" he asked with a confused frown as she powered down the rotors.

"Coming to the party," she grinned, hopping down from the cockpit.

She wasn't disappointed at all by Norm's reaction. His jaw looked like it was about to hit the ground.

"Jake got me an invite," she explained, "only, I have to stay with you, and there's a Cinderella clause...gotta be back before midnight."

"You don't mind hanging around with me all evening?" he asked, sitting to put himself more at her level.

"Are you kidding? You're the best translator I'm likely to find, right?" she laughed. "Besides," she added, "there's nobody else I'd rather hang out with at a Na'vi party than you." She took a deep breath and slipped her mask off long enough to kiss him on the cheek, then put it back on.

"I...guess that's fine then," Norm blushed. "Hey, I've never see you in dressy clothes before, you look good."

She did a little spin. "Yeah you know it," she grinned. "It's not quite native dress, but I figured why the heck not."

"It suits you," Norm smiled, "everyone will be very impressed, definitely. We should probably start heading for Hometree now, though, it's a bit of a walk, and, well, for a human it's probably going to be an even longer walk than for me as an avatar, so..." He trailed off, not wanting to piss her off accidentally and knowing if he said any more his foot would most certainly end up in his mouth.

Luckily, though, she was in too good a mood to get snippy. "Sounds like a plan," she nodded, "lemme just get my pack and we'll head off."

"Pack?" he blinked.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I figured since I won't be able to eat or drink any of their food I should bring something along in case I get hungry."

"Ah," Norm nodded, "makes sense I guess."

It took only a couple of minutes for her to grab her pack and make sure her Sampson was totally secure, and then they were on their way.

* * *

Tom could not seem to calm down. He was in the singers' alcove and Ninat had managed to persuade him to sit, rather than pacing like he'd been doing, but he was still incredibly nervous. It was almost time to sing, and he was _sure_ he was going to screw up somehow.

This was ridiculous. He hadn't felt this nervous since his first thesis defense, and if he'd managed _that_ just fine, he was sure he could do _this_.

Hometree was bustling with activity, and in order to distract himself, he closed his eyes and focused on the sounds around him, trying to identify what was happening through sound alone. There were people cooking, and someone was scolding a child for running too near the firepit... and someone was walking by the alcove, pacing. Probably one of the other trainees. There were two others in his same situation, after all, although they were quite a bit younger than him, both being around fifteen or sixteen, by his estimation. Of course, with Na'vi children it was harder to gauge, since they aged at different rates than human children. Ninat had explained that although it was not always the case, the singers liked to use new hunters' _iknimaya_ as an opportunity for their own trainees as well, and Tom could see the logic in that. Just another form of the "balance" that the Na'vi brought to their everyday lives.

He was so distracted by his wandering thoughts and the sounds outside that he missed the soft footfalls, and only a faint whiff of her individual scent warned him before Ninat sat down next to him and began gently rubbing his shoulders.

"_You will do marvelously, ma Tom,_" she reassured him, "_if you do not allow your nerves to get the better of you. I will not let you fail, do not fear. I will be beside you and if you become too nervous simply close your eyes and remember how it was when we practiced yesterday with only the two of us._"

He should have stopped her from touching him so much, but it was making him feel better, and right now that trumped propriety...at least for the moment. "_I just can't wait for the singing part of the evening to be done,_" he admitted, "_I find I have a great desire to do nothing more than relax with a little alcohol, although I know that's a crutch I really should not rely on._"

"_It is not a crutch if you are celebrating your success,_" she smiled, shaking her head, "_Once your singing is done, and the relaxed part of the celebration begins, I will be more than glad to bring you any treats you like._"

That made him laugh a little. "_Are you hoping to get me drunk and make me do things I shouldn't?_" he teased.

"_Of course not,_" she pinched his shoulder lightly, "_Why would I do such a thing when I have no need?_"

"_You mean I'll do things I shouldn't even when I'm not drunk?_" he frowned.

"_No, silly,_" she shook her head, "_I mean there are no things I can think of that I would want you to do which you should not, so how can I make you do things you should not be doing whether you have had a few drinks or not?_"

Tom groaned softly at her logic. "_Ninat, you're going to get me in so much trouble one of these days,_" he whispered ruefully.

She just patted his shoulder soothingly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jake was...kinda not getting into the party atmosphere as much as he'd thought he would. That could've been because he hadn't had anything to eat yet, but more likely it was because Neytiri had dragged him to what amounted to center stage and told him quite firmly to sit and stay put. Bad enough he had to have stuff sung about him, but Jake hadn't realized he was going to have to be on display during all this as well!

"Can't I at least have something to nibble on while I sit here looking like an ass?" he complained to Neytiri.

"_Oìsss_" she hissed at him, "You still act like a baby! You are _taronyu_ now, you have learned to be patient and quiet your stomach, put this to use!"

Jake pouted a bit, but he didn't broach the question again. After all, he...really didn't want to seem like a child to her. He'd thought they'd gotten past that, quite frankly. Of course, pouting probably wasn't helping her impression of his maturity...

He wiped the pout off his face and concentrated on looking around instead, wondering how much longer it was going to be before this whole thing got underway.

* * *

As they reached the outskirts of the territory surrounding Hometree, even in the fading light of evening Trudy was already deeply aware of the height of the tree, visible in flashes between the other, not-exactly-tiny trees that made up the canopy. She'd seen it from a distance from the air before, of course, but from ground level it was almost more mind-blowing.

"_Greetings, my friends,_" Tseo'ong fell into step beside them. "_I was heading out to accompany you in, but it seems as though you're ahead of me,_" he smiled.

"_Nice to see you,_" Trudy grinned cheekily.

"I see you have...practicing," Tseo'ong smiled at her, "I have...not as much practicing, I must more."

"_You're getting there though,_" Norm shook his head. "_I guess you must've been warned I was bringing an extra guest._"

"_The boarder watchers have been told to expect her, I merely overheard,_" the weaver shook his head. "_Not all will be happy to have her with us, but I know better than them, because I have met you._"

"I appreciate that," Trudy said dryly.

"_Your garment today is different from the other sky people garments I have seen,_" Tseo'ong peered at Trudy's skirt curiously.

"_It is traditional for females,_" Norm explained, "_We call it a "_skirt_", and it can be many different lengths and patterns, but as long as both legs are wrapped in one garment it's a _skirt_ unless the top is connected to it, which means it's a _dress_ instead...well...mostly,_" he faltered.

"_It is clear the weavers of your people must be very skilled,_" Tseo'ong marveled.

Norm shook his head slightly. "_Most weaving in our world is done by machines,_" he corrected. "_Although in this case I'm not sure._" He turned to ask Trudy about her skirt just as they broke through the bush into the clearing that surrounded Hometree proper.

Trudy gasped in amazement, momentarily losing her cool in a way she hadn't expected as she took in the vast community woven seamlessly into the living tree that towered above them, as tall as a skyscraper back on Earth.

"I only wish _Taat_ could have seen this," she whispered. "This is exactly what he always talked about, this cooperation with the natural world."

Norm pulled her in close against his side. "The Na'vi call it "_meoauniaea_"," he said softly, "living in harmony with nature."

She nodded silently, just staring for a little while until she took a deep breath and pulled herself back to her usual cool. "You were right," she finally said, "It is very much like the camps where I grew up."

"_Come,_" Tseo'ong smiled at the two, sensing the moment of reflection was over, "_You are early for the party, so we have time for me to show you the area of the weavers._"

* * *

Tom had finally managed to slip into a semi-meditative state when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Ninat smiling down at him.

"_Come,_" she said, "_it is time._"

He swallowed hard and stood, trying to hold onto the calm he'd found. It was a little reassuring that at least the other two apprentices looked just as nervous as he felt inside.

"_I am ready,_" he nodded.

She led him outside and he tried very hard to ignore the crowd of people they walked through to reach the stage where the singers were to perform. He did managed to catch sight of Jake, sitting on another stage which had been erected nearby, and that made him forget his worry for a moment and smile. Jake looked particularly put out and uncomfortable, and even though he knew it shouldn't, that made him feel worlds better. At least he wasn't alone in his discomfort.

Jake's eyes met Tom's and he made a nasty face for half a second before Neytiri turned to look at him, at which point he looked totally innocent and slightly bored and put out again. Tom tried not to laugh. It felt like elementary school all over again. Not that that was a particularly bad thing, if he thought like that, maybe it would be another thing to help keep him relaxed.

Once he had taken his place alongside the other two apprentices and slightly in front of the other singers, Eytukan strode forward.

"_Today we welcome three new hunters,_" he said, allowing a small amount of pride to show through in his voice. "_Each of them has proven, through their skills and through taking part in the ritual of iknimaya and successfully bonding with an ikran, that they are worthy to be called "taronyu". We wonder, though, how they came to this place, what fate led them to the hunter's path. Who can tell us of this?_"

"_We can tell,_" Kxawn'e stepped forward, "_If you will listen, we will sing of each child, but first, all must be reminded what it is to be a child, wondering and wandering through a world of possibilities._"

Tom watched carefully for the signal. Unlike human choirs, Na'vi didn't "count in" or conduct, they simply...started singing. A lack of perfect unison wasn't considered a problem, but being blatantly out of rhythm _was_ usually considered bad manners.

A drum beat once, and the song began. As they sang about the curiosity of childhood, and the many paths a child might choose, children and young adolescents began to dance, acting out each life path as the singers described it, some pretending to weave, others mimicking the preparation of food or building of drums and other musical instruments, a few pretended to sing along with the chorus, and then, as they came to the verse describing the choice of a child to become a hunter, all the dancing children dropped their other activities and began "hunting" as well, some pretending to be prey items, others stalking them, and then reversing the roles.

And then the chorus began to drop away and Tom almost froze, realizing that it was time for him to sing. Because Jake had been the first of the group to tame his _ikran_, his song had to come first in each section. Tom had tried to argue that since his was so different it should not overshadow the songs of the other two new hunters, but Ninat and Kxawn'e had quickly nixed that. It would be more odd, they had said, if the order was changed. And besides, they had pointed out, Jake's song would be different no matter where he was put in the order, in any case.

And then all the other voices were gone and Tom suddenly realized he was on his own. He choked and faltered for a second, but then Jake stuck his tongue out, and at the same moment Ninat's hand rested comfortingly on his lower back where no-one could see, and he took a deep breath and continued.

He sang of a boy on a dying world. Of two boys, because where one went the other was never far behind, at least at first. He sang of a mother who was a strong warrior from an ancient clan, of a father whose prowess as a singer (the best way he could explain "scientist" for this purpose anyway) had balanced that warrior, and how both parents had influenced the choices of their sons, the elder following their mother's path while the younger was drawn more and more to the world of their father.

He sang of a time of great sadness for the family, of the elder son injured in a war not his own, of both parents passing unexpectedly, and he sang of the echo of a new hope in a new world, of Eywa's blessing that the two need not be separated. Then he sang of how, with their new bodies, both men became children once more, in their own eyes and in the eyes of the clan which had brought them into its embrace, allowing them to learn, once again each in his chosen field. He sang of the excitement in his brother's eyes as he learned to read and understand the new world around him, and his determination to become a strong hunter.

And then another voice was taking over, the singer for the next young hunter had begun his tale. He felt his knees go weak for a moment as he let his last note trail off, and tried to maintain his composure. there were two more song sections to go, after all.

* * *

Jake was...stunned, quite frankly. To the point that he'd almost forgotten to be embarrassed by everyone focusing on him. Oh, he'd known Tom was studying to be a "singer" whatever that meant, but until this moment it really hadn't occurred to him just what was going into that study. It was one thing to be able to sing along with a chorus, heck, even _he_ could manage that without too much horror from the singers around him, but...there was no way somebody else had written all that stuff Tom had just sung. I mean, yeah, his Na'vi still wasn't great, but his comprehension was a hell of a lot better than his speaking, so he'd gotten most of what Tom had been saying (it helped that he'd lived it too, no doubt) and it was all true, but at the same time, it sounded like something out of some old-time movie or epic novel or something, some great tragic hero on a quest, and that so wasn't him...was it?

He could see Tom looking at him again, and he grinned and winked. Epic bullshit or not, his brother had obviously dug deep for all that, and he didn't want Tom to think he didn't appreciate it.

* * *

As the third child's story song faded into silence, Neytiri diverted her attention between keeping an eye on Jake and making sure he behaved himself and watching her father. This had always been her favourite portion of the welcoming of new hunters - the tales of the bondings.

Her father nodded to each of the young hunters in turn, then to Kxawn'e. "_Tell me, oh singers, the tales of the bonding of these fine children each to their own ikran,_" he said, following the words of a ritual as old as the first songs, "_I would ask them myself, but children are often shy and do not wish to speak of their own deeds, choosing instead to insist that their elders must have done far better than their own small efforts._"

And the singers started the song of the _ikran_. Neytiri settled back comfortably on her heels. She loved watching the children in their costumes, arms held out, dipping and weaving around, "flying" as _ikran_ upon the air. Their movements grew more and more excited and agitated as the song drew to its close until finally the "hunters" (other children who'd been hiding in their midst) jumped up, startling them and spooking them in a riot of colour back into the crowd.

Her eyes then turned to focus on Txom as he began to sing Jhake's _iknimaya_; the exhausting climb up the mountains, the final moments of calm under the waterfall before stepping out to confront his destiny. She smiled. The singers always made _iknimaya_ sound so much more...mystical than it actually was. Although truthfully, when one thought back on it, it probably was almost as mystical as they implied, it was just that in the heat and sweat and (often) bloodshed of the struggle, the young hunters were far too focused on the bare reality of each second and did not have a thought to spare for what else was going on. At least, not until that moment when the bond was made. To bond with an _ikran_ was...well, Neytiri would not have traded her hunter training for anything since it had brought her Seze, who was, sometimes, more partner to her than any other person she had ever known.

She shuddered momentarily as Txom reached the moment when all had seemed lost, when Jhake had been thrown off the side of the mountain. The tone of his voice was chilling, as though he had known the massive rush of fear she herself had felt at that same moment. He held the note and she felt her fingers - her whole body - clenching with the need to do something, even though she knew everything had turned out fine. When he broke into triumphant voice, telling of how Jhake had vaulted back up into the _ikran_ grounds and right back onto his _ikran_, at last making the bond, her whole body slumped with relief. She was very impressed. She had thought, at first, that Ninat was only insistent on Txom being brought among them in order to balance his twin and because she found him pleasant to look at, but it was clear that Ninat had seen something in the other Sully twin that even Neytiri, apprentice Tsahìk, had not.

* * *

"Holy shit, are you serious?" Trudy whispered as Norm quietly translated the song to her, "that's totally batshit..."

Norm just shrugged. "You'll have to ask Jake," he whispered. "Now he's telling about how Jake had to figure out how to actually get his banshee to do what he told it to do. It involved a lot of crazy dives and almost flying into rocks, apparently."

Trudy snickered. "Sounds like Jake, alright," she grinned, leaning back against him. She'd managed to convince Norm that since she was so much shorter than everyone else here, it was only fair that she should get to sit in his lap so she'd be high enough to actually see the stage. He'd protested at first, of course, saying that it wasn't appropriate to be touching that much in public, but she'd quickly shot that one down, pointing out that of course it was alright since they wouldn't be touching in a way that was anything other than him helping her see over the crowds, and if he was gonna be that way about it maybe she should just sit on his shoulders instead.

That had done the trick, and now she was happily ensconced in his lap, leaning back against his chest. It was a little weird, I mean, he was _so_ much bigger than her like this she felt like a little kid or something, but at the same time, this was just _Norm_, and she knew he was way too well-behaved to take advantage of the situation. Plus, he was comfy and warm, and the colours of her skirt looked good against the blue of his legs.

She was really glad Jake had managed to get her this invite. Especially since she had Norm to act as a translator. Sure, most of the RDA merc types would've never admitted to wanting to see something like this, but if you just had an open mind it was actually pretty cool. Not to mention the sense of community she could feel even though she was a totally obvious outsider. Sure she'd gotten her share of glares and even a few hisses (man, not only did they look kinda like cats they even _hissed_ like 'em too! But then she'd always thought cats were pretty sassy and awesome) but that was only what she'd expected, and it'd been outweighed by the welcome the weavers had expressed when Tseo'ong (she'd practiced that name, and she thought she finally had it right) had shown her and Norm around. Especially when she'd let them look at her skirt (without taking it off, of course) and explained that her _chiich_ had made it by hand, rather than it having been made industrially like Norm had thought. He'd apologized nicely for that one, too. Such a good boy, Normie was.

Oops, Jake's song was over and it was the song for the guy sitting next to him now. She focused her attention back on Norm's translation. She didn't know the other two kids, of course, but she'd gotten kinda pulled in by their stories, and she wanted to know how they turned out too.

* * *

Ninat let out a tiny sigh of relief as all three apprentices made it through the tales of their hunter's _iknimaya_ without incident. Now it was time for the invocation of Eywa to watch over the new hunters and their _ikran_, and then each hunter's wish-song, and then the hard part of the night would be over and the real party would begin. She couldn't wait to get Tom truly relaxed again. He was still so nervous she almost thought she might be able to play him like that "_fìttal_" of Ka'tsi's.

She giggled slightly as she caught Jake making faces at his brother again. Clearly he was just as aware as she was of Tom's nervousness and was making an effort to relieve it. Neytiri apparently didn't think it was so cute though. She frowned when she caught him at it and pinched his ear to get his attention, causing him to flinch. Ninat almost missed Tom's echoing flinch and the flick of his ear in sympathy, but...no, he'd definitely reacted to his brother's pain. Interesting. She'd heard those tales of twins before, maybe she'd have to ask him about it later, find out just how closely linked their minds and bodies were.

But now it was time to sing.

She raised her voice in the invocation to Eywa, and in a secret part of her heart she had to admit that she perhaps put more of herself into the song this time than other times in the past. She had come to care for Jake, and not only because he was Tom's brother and the two were obviously so close. Jake was perhaps the only one who could straighten out the mess that was the relationship between Neytiri and Tsu'tey, mostly because in her defense of Jake, Neytiri was being forced to look within herself as well, and to question the habit she'd gotten into of blindly following the orders of her parents and her sister.

She also, as was tradition, sang an invocation of Eywa's protection for the new singers as well. They might not have big, exciting rites of passage like _iknimaya_ but ask any singer if they had struggled through their first solo and they would swear they came as close to peril as any hunter climbing to the _ikran_ grounds.

This final singing, the wish-song, was the part Tom had struggled the most with, especially because it was the only one she could not hear beforehand. It was a special prayer, from Jake and also from Tom himself on Jake's behalf, and it had to be told first to Eywa, not to any other Na'vi, not even one of his teachers.

She couldn't resist the urge to touch him one more time as she let her voice fade away, lending him a little strength through this final trial. She also couldn't resist the faint shiver that passed through her as he began to sing again. The tone he had chosen was unusually somber for a wish-song, at least at first, and it was both chilling and beautiful.

His first words were of sadness for the world left behind, but then, slowly, they shifted to hope. Hope for a new home, but also hope for a way to help that other, dying world as well. He begged Eywa's grace as he sang of a weary warrior, one who, like all true warriors, wished not for more war, but for peace, for a home to return to and a place to rest his head, for a family around him and no more need to use his skills of war.

She was so proud of him! His song touched everyone; she could see it in the eyes of the singers around her, and she could see it in the posture of the audience, mates leaning against each other, pulling their children close against them.

He sang of a hope of acceptance among the clan, a pure desire to become one of their number, and a recognition of the balance the great mother brings to all things, and as his voice finally faded and the next singer took up the note and the wish-song, she could hardly contain herself. She felt the release of tension as he realized his trial was through, and she let herself believe, just for a moment, that it was only her hand against his back that kept him on his feet.

Then his feet were firm and she could see a smile pass across his face, and her confident Tom was truly back. She kept her hand where it was, though. No need to move it if it didn't trouble him, after all. She felt something brush against her arm, then, and glanced over only to realize he'd wrapped his tail gently around her elbow. She wondered if he even realized he'd done that. _Uniltìranyu_ took a long time to learn how to properly control their tails, after all.

Obviously he had, though, because he very gently pulled back on her arm until her hand wasn't on his back anymore. She was briefly disappointed, but then his tail slid slowly - she could almost tell herself _caressingly_ - down her forearm, wrapping around her wrist. Whether the intention was to retain contact in a more discreet fashion or to keep her from touching his back again, or even both, she wasn't sure, but she found she didn't mind so very much. It was contact he had initiated, and that was a rare enough thing still for it to be precious to her.

* * *

"Wow..." Trudy said softly after the final note of the final song had drifted away into silence, "that was...yeah, got no words," she shook her head. "I thought this was just gonna be some kinda party thing but...totally blew any party I've ever been to out of the water. Any church thing either."

Norm smiled against her hair. It certainly was an amazing cultural spectacle, but more than that, it was a really amazing thing for a couple of his best friends. It was like grad but way, way bigger, and he was really glad he'd had the chance to see it. Of course it would have been amazing to see this kind of rite of passage no matter whose it was, but the fact that it involved people he actually knew, well...it made things _personal_. Oh, he knew he wasn't supposed to get too personal with his research but...well why the heck not? Pandora wasn't just some cut and dried coldly calculated research project, it was a vibrant, living, breathing thing. Not just the people, not even just the trees with their signal transduction, but the whole interconnected web. Sitting watching something like this, he could easily understand why the Na'vi had so much reverence for the forest and for Eywa. Sitting here among them, he could almost sense her presence...even if he was, of course, a properly skeptical scientist.

Grace had been right. Pandora's greatest danger was that you never, ever wanted to leave.

Speaking of Grace, Norm suddenly wondered where she was. She'd been nearby at one point before the ceremony began, but he hadn't seen her since then. Oh well, she was always in on the action, so he was sure she'd found herself a good spot close to the front; pride of place for the unofficial "mother" of their little ragtag misfit clan. He wrapped his arms more firmly around Trudy. God she was so tiny when he was in this form! Not that he'd ever say that to her, of course. He liked his bits intact, thank you very much!

"Should we go congratulate the stars of the show?" he asked her as the spell finally seemed to be broken and people started to get up.

"You read my mind," she nodded, "come on; let's see if we can't embarrass Jake a little more!"

Norm just rolled his eyes and laughed as he stood up. Trudy was...well... Trudy was Trudy, and that was what he loved about her, her deeply-rooted and intrinsic _Trudy-ness_. "Come on then," he said, taking her hand and heading toward the front of the crowd. It was so _tiny_ wrapped up in his. Tiny, but so very, very strong.

* * *

**Woot! And that chapter's done! And both boys are through the first stage of acceptance into their chosen pathways.**

**I know I still haven't deal with it but they do technically know that they're on a limited timeline, although it's kinda slipped their minds for the moment. No fear though, that part of the plot will be brought up again soon.**

**And now for everyone's favourite...**

**Vocab:**

**Na'vi:  
_Kelutral_ - Hometree  
_aysoktor_ - "doctors" or scientists  
_tsamsiyu_ - warrior_  
kunsìp_ - "gunship"  
_nantang'ewan_ - this one's a construct. "_nantang_", as you know, is a viperwolf, "_'ewan_" is "young", so essentially "puppy-wolf" ears. I'm sure you can all picture it.  
_ Tsahìk _- interpreter of the will of Eywa, spiritual leader  
_tawtute _- sky person  
_uniltìranyu_ - "dreamwalker", avatar_  
nivi _- hammock_  
__iknimaya_ - "stairway to heaven", rite of passage to become a hunter  
_ikran _- banshee_  
_**

**Yucatec Maya:  
_chiich_ - grandmother  
_Taat_ - father**


	21. Chapter 20: Friends and Relations

**Hey look, it's me! Yes, another chapter for all of you. Hopefully you'll enjoy this little bit of fun, I know I did**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 20: Friends and Relations

Jake looked around as the party part of the evening began, and grinned when he saw a small, pink figure dragging an avatar toward him.

"Hey!" he jumped down to meet Trudy and Norm, "you made it after all! I wasn't sure."

"You think I was gonna miss this?" Trudy grinned at him, "Yeah right!"

"I'm just amazed you managed to get through the whole thing without making an ass of yourself," Grace laughed as she headed over to Jake. "I saw the faces, even if Neytiri didn't notice at first."

"Hey, that was just me being a supportive brother," Jake assumed an innocent air.

"Whatever you say," Grace rolled her eyes, "but speaking of brothers, why don't we go find yours before he manages to get himself completely overwhelmed by his new fans." She waved a hand in the direction of the singers' stage, which seemed to be crowded by a number of Na'vi, most of whom were female.

"Ah, fangirls," Jake laughed, "don't worry, he's used to dealing with those."

* * *

Tsu'tey watched the _uniltìranyu_ group and the _tawtute_ female interact with a fair amount of wariness and just the tiniest bit of curiosity. He knew the female was a guest Mo'at had approved, and he had heard the reasoning behind it as well, but...somehow this fragile-looking being didn't equate in his mind with the necessary strength to be a flier.

Then again, _tawtute_ were small in general, so perhaps it was not all _that_ strange. He started to move toward the group, more in an effort to hear what they were talking about than out of any desire to actually speak to any of them, but his passage was interrupted by a flying tackle from the direction of the dancers.

"_Did you see me? Did you see! I danced really really well and I got to be the weaver for the children's dance and then I got to be an ikran and it was so much fun!_"

He patiently stood still while his "attacker" hauled herself fully up onto his shoulders. "_Yes, Laney-tsyìp, I saw you. You danced very well,_" he said calmly, "_Although I do not understand why you find it necessary to leap at me from hiding in order to tell me that._"

"_Because leaping at you from hiding is fun, of course,_" she laughed and tugged at his braids. "_Brother, you know Jhakesuuly, right?_" she asked, suddenly less hyper and more thoughtful.

"_You know I take all the young hunters up for their iknimaya, so of course you know that I do know him,_" Tsu'tey said a little warily, "_but what would you want with him? He's just a foolish skxawng who's trying to be a hunter._"

"_His story was so sad,_" she said with a sigh, resting her chin on her hands and her elbows on his head, "_and his prayer to Eywa was so different from the other hunters. I think he needs a friend._"

"_He is old enough to be able to make friends just fine on his own,_" Tsu'tey said warily, "_He does not need your help in that, I am quite sure._"

"_You shouldn't be so grumpy, 'tey,_" Laneya pinched his ear. "_Go take me over, I want to meet them!_"

Tsu'tey sighed but he did as he was ordered. He knew better than to refuse his baby sister's requests when she had easy access to sensitive areas like his ears and hair to tug and pinch at to make her demands known.

Just as they were coming up behind Jake, Tsu'tey heard a light peal of laughter behind him.

"_You are too soft with your sister, ma 'itan,_" his mother laughed, "_She rides you like a docile pa'li mare._"

"_It does not bother me,_" he smiled faintly, stroking his sister's tail where it wrapped around his neck, "_Soon enough she will no longer be small enough, and then I will be so busy fighting off the males from around her that I will look back on days like this and wish she had never grown._"

"_You will not scare off all the males,_" Laneya frowned and pulled a lock of his hair, "_Just the ones I tell you to scare off!_"

"_I will scare off every one I deem unworthy of you,_" Tsu'tey grumbled.

"_This is an argument for a later time,_" their mother shook her head, "_I wanted to speak some more with the most interesting tawtute female._"

Tsu'tey frowned. "_I wasn't aware you had met her, Sa'nok,_"

"_Indeed,_" she nodded, "_She and her yawnetu stopped by to visit with the weavers earlier today, and I wish to deepen the acquaintance._"

Laneya, apparently having decided that they were taking too long talking, reached over and tugged at one of Jake's braids. "_Hello!_" she said cheerfully when he turned to see who was playing with his hair, "_I'm Laneya, I'm Tsu'tey's sister. Tsmukan says you're a skxawng, but I liked your story._" She snuggled her face against Tsu'tey's hair. "_I think you and Tsmukan should be friends._"

"_Laneya!_" her mother scolded her, "_Manners! I didn't raise a prolemuris. How many hands do you have, is it two or four?_"

"_I See you, Laneya, Tsu'tey's sister,_" Jake grinned, unable to hide his amusement at the image presented before him. The stoic and staid (or at least that was how he was trying to look) Tsu'tey standing there clearly trying to ignore the fact that he had a little girl riding around on his shoulders and clinging to his head. "_You maybe I want to be friends, but brother does not like._"

That caused Tsu'tey to snort in amusement "_You see, Laney-tsyìp? He is an utter skxawng who doesn't even know how to speak._"

"Hey now," Jake made a face, "I think I'm doing pretty darned well for only two months of study."

"Oh! _Ìnglisi_!," Laneya giggled, "I know little, from _Tsmukan_ says things I not supposed listen to."

Tsu'tey's ears pinned back fully at that. He was going to have to really start watching what he said around his little sister from now on; apparently using _Ìnglisi_ wasn't keeping things as private as he'd hoped.

"Your accent's atrocious, Jake," Trudy spoke up then, "and if even _I _can tell, then it really _must_ be bad."

"I'd like to see you do better," he objected.

Trudy smirked. "Oh, I know I can't beat you with understanding stuff," she said, "but I'll bet you my accent's better."

"What makes you think you would be any better at speaking than the _skxawng_ here?" Tsu'tey was genuinely curious. This little _tawtute_ female was definitely odd.

"Oh, I have a tiny advantage," Trudy shrugged, "I grew up with a lot of similar sounds. Not all us sky people speak the same language, you know."

"You same age like me?" Laneya scurried down from Tsu'tey's shoulders and over to Trudy before her brother or mother could catch her.

"Hmm...nope," Trudy shook her head, "I'm all grown up."

"_Tawtute are very small,_" Tsu'tey grinned.

"_But still strong,_" his mother frowned at him, "_Do not judge them purely on size._"

"Oh, hello again, Tamrrlìn _täftxuyu_," Trudy waved, grinning. She'd practiced that word a LOT since she met the weaving mistress earlier this evening, and she was pretty sure she'd got it right.

"Hello again, Trru'di," Tamrrlìn crouched down to put herself more on the other woman's level, "You will come sit with us for eating? Or do you sit with Jhakesuuly?"

Trudy glanced up at Norm, unsure what the polite thing to do was in this case. "Um...we should probably eat with Jake and Tom," she said, hoping that was right, "since they invited us, but maybe after Norm and I can come visit with you more?"

"Of course," the weaving mistress nodded, a smile spreading across her face, "in some ways _tawtute_ and Na'vi are not so different, I see."

"Well, I don't have a tail," Trudy pointed out with a grin, "and my ears aren't quite as pointy and mobile, but yeah, we're pretty much alike other than that."

Tamrrlìn chuckled. "I look forward to more speaking with you," she nodded, getting to her feet again and retrieving Laneya, who had scampered up Norm's back and was playing with his cap with interest. "_Laneya, return his head garment to him,_" she frowned at her daughter.

"_Sorry,_" she hung her head, "_Here_." She held out the cap to Norm, who just laughed and put it on her head.

"_You keep it for me, for now,_" he smiled, "_You can give it back to me the next time we meet, how does that sound?_"

"_Yay! Thank you!_" Laneya leaned in and kissed his cheek exuberantly before her mother pulled her away again.

"Uh-oh," Trudy laughed, "should I be jealous, do you think?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much," Grace grinned, "it's clearly nothing more than a childhood crush."

"Come on," Norm tried to change the topic, "it looks like the crowd around Tom is clearing, we should grab him and find a place to sit, since it looks like they're about to start passing out food."

* * *

Peyral leaned back among her fellow hunters, watching the scene with interest. She knew it was likely that she would be among those teaching the new hunters how to work cooperatively, and it would probably be a good idea to get some idea what each of them was like before the point when they were out in the forest depending on each other alone.

She was sure the younger two would do well; after all, she had already had plenty of chances to observe them before, although perhaps not quite as close as she soon would. The other, though, the _uniltìranyu_... he was different. Until tonight, she had frankly written him off completely. She'd experienced _uniltìranyu_ before and been very much less than impressed, but this one...well, if his song could be believed, he was definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with. He _might_ even be worth flirting with a little. After all, there was little enough in the way of possible mates among the clan, as far as she was concerned. Not that there was anything _wrong_ with her clan's males, of course, she loved them all like brothers, but... well... a woman does not mate with her brother, after all.

And speaking of brothers, the brother - the new singer - he was very interesting as well. Although it looked as though he had enough prospective admirers, at least for now. She chuckled at the way his ears were pinned almost completely back against his head. He looked a little...overwhelmed, but she was sure he could handle it. After all, he _was_ male, and any male was more than willing to be fawned over. Ah, males were indeed entertaining!

She heard a displeased hiss behind her and turned to see Apxey frowning.

"_Why do they make such a fuss over that disgusting alien?_" he growled.

"_Jealousy does not make you more handsome in any woman's eyes, Apxey,_" Peyral chided him, "_And while our new hunter and his brother are, indeed, alien, they are also well-built and well-spoken, something which most women appreciate. You would have less trouble finding a mate if you were to spend less time growling over the things others have done wrong and more time showing what you can do right_." She flipped her hair back from where it had trailed over her shoulder and picked up a plate of food, handing it to her hunt-brother. "_Here,_" she said with a placating smile, "_why not eat? Clearly hunger has stolen your usual good manners_."

His ears remained low, but Apxey knew better than to refuse the courtesy of any of his hunt-sisters, and especially Peyral, who tended to know just how to prank her hunt-brothers when she felt they were acting out of turn. The last thing he wanted was to wake up tomorrow with mushroom-skin in place of his loincloth! "_Irayo, ma tsmuke,"_ he muttered, genuinely smiling a little when he realized she'd passed him his favourite dish of mashed tuber mixed with shredded _yerik_ meat and gravy. It was too bad he knew there was no way she would ever accept him should he choose her. She was, after all, a truly amazing woman. But she saw all the hunters as only her brothers, and he knew (although he never admitted this, of course) that there were those among the clan far more worthy of taking her as mate, although none had yet managed that feat.

Besides, there was a young woman among the singers who was almost ready to take her place among the clan whom he had been watching for quite some time now, and his gifts of food and special treats to her and her family seemed to be well-received so far... Perhaps he should go see if young Ama' wanted to share some of the mashed tubers. There was more here than he could eat on his own. Well, he'd say that anyway...

* * *

"So, you managed that pretty well," Grace grinned at Tom as he finally managed to shake his pursuing fangirls and join their group. "Sit down before you fall down, and get some food in you. You look like you're about to pass out!"

"I made him eat, tried," Ninat sighed, "but said he his stomach was not agreeable." She snagged a plate from a nearby pile and filled it with food before sitting next to him and setting it in his lap. "Now you eat," she frowned at him.

Grace had to laugh at the way his ears pinned back.

"_I'm not a baby,_" he pointed out, "_and I'm not going to pass out, I promise. If that was going to happen it would've by now._"

She just shook her head and held up a cooked _teylu_ to his mouth. "_Eat,_" she said firmly, "_You have had a busy day today, and tomorrow we begin preparations for another very busy time._"

"What busy time is that?" Grace asked curiously.

Ninat smiled. "_Oh, that is not anything to worry about tonight. Tonight we celebrate Jake and Tom's successes, tomorrow will be soon enough to worry about other things._"

"Right," Grace nodded. "Speaking of which, I have to say - and keep in mind this isn't something you're likely to hear from me again, but - I'm pretty damn proud of you two boys. You've managed to accomplish feats none of my other avatar drivers have even come close to, all within the first two months or so since you arrived here. Frankly, it's almost beyond belief. So make sure I keep believing it, would you?" she grinned at them, "cause if you screw up now, I'm gonna be _really_ pissed off."

"You can trust me," Tom said with a laugh, "Now, Jake here I'm not so sure on; there's always the chance that he'll do something monumentally stupid and get trampled by a herd of _'angtsìk_ or something."

"Yeah right," Jake made a face at him, "it's more likely that you'd be the one to screw up, not me."

"Well let's not turn it into a contest to see who can screw up better," Grace frowned, "God, sometimes I wonder if I haven't been afflicted with twelve-year-olds instead of researchers."

"Sorry Mom," the twins chorused in identically sing-song voices.

Grace just rolled her eyes. Secretly though, she had to admit that she did kindof think of the team as her boys, Jake and Norm especially, although what time she had spent with Tom, both here among the Omatikaya and when she stopped in at Hell's Gate for whatever reason had definitely managed to endear him to her as well.

She sat back and silently just enjoyed watching their little group, Tom and Jake eating and casually chatting with their teachers, Norm interjecting a comment here or there around his own dinner, and Trudy - definitely the odd woman out given that she was the only human sitting here in human form but managing to fit in somehow as well - every once in a while taking a deep breath before raising her exopack's mask off her face to take a bite of food or a swig of whatever it was she'd stashed in her water jug. Grace had a very strong suspicion (bolstered by her avatar's superior sense of smell) that whatever it was involved alcohol of some kind, but after all, everyone else was drinking, and she trusted the pilot to know her own limitations. Besides, there was clearly no way she was going to be flying herself back up into the mountains in the middle of the night, so what did it matter if she got a bit tipsy?

* * *

Soon enough it was midnight (or almost) and time for Norm to take Trudy back to the forest house for the night. It had been an amazing evening, and neither one of them really wanted to leave, but Norm wasn't going to push his luck, and he was sure that the reason for their leaving a little early had less to do with Trudy's _tawtute_ presence upsetting people and more to do with Mo'at's concern over how the rising intoxication level of the party might make some people forget that the _tawtute_ was there as a guest and do something that everyone would regret later. And although Norm would, of course, defend her with his life if he had to (something he didn't mention to her, mostly because she'd probably laugh herself silly over the sentiment, insisting that she was more likely to be the one defending _him_ than the other way around) he would really rather not get caught up in a fight with a Na'vi _tsamsiyu_ who would probably be far stronger, more agile and better-trained than he.

And so here they were, hiking back through the mystically luminescent forest, just the two of them. Actually, Norm couldn't have been happier. He was prattling on (yes, he knew perfectly well that was what he was doing, but hey, she wasn't complaining about being bored, was she?) about the different uses the Na'vi had for various of the plants around them and catching Trudy every time she tripped over a loose branch or bit of nothing at all. Yup, his Trudy was juuuuust a little drunk. Actually, it was kindof cute. He'd never actually seen her drink before (probably because she never got a break from the possibility that she might have to fly, and flying drunk was obviously a very bad idea) and as it turned out she was a happy, slightly giggly drunk, or at least she was so far. She certainly seemed to be finding a lot of things funny, at any rate.

"Woops!" she laughed as she tripped again, "didn't see that stick there!"

"Come on, that's the sixteenth stick you haven't seen," Norm laughed, "I thought you said you were awesome at walking through the woods."

"Well, yeah," she snorted, "but that's when I'm sober, not when I've had a few sips of tequila."

"Oh, is that what it was?" Norm raised an eyebrow, "I figured it was just rum or something."

"You kidding? No way I'd drink rotgut rum for Jake's big day, gotta haul out the good stuff!" she gestured grandiosely, startling a whole group of fan lizards. "Hey look! UFO's!" she giggled, leaning against him.

"Nope," he grinned, wrapping an arm around him, "they only _look_ like UFO's, actually they're IFL's. Incidental Flying Lizards."

"Norm," she snorted, "that's really dumb."

"Yeah, I know," he laughed, "but hey, I tried!" He scooped her up into his arms. "Come on, let's get home before we run into a pack of thanators or something."

"Silly," she shook her head, "Even _I_ know thanators don't hunt in packs! That's the viperwolves."

"Right, right," he nodded, carrying her safely back to the forest house in relative silence.

* * *

After the party was over and everyone had recovered, life went back to normal at Hometree. Or as close to whatever "normal" had become for the Sully twins in their rapid push to learn and become Omatikaya. For Tom, that now meant preparing to go out on a trading excursion to one of the neighboring tribes, but for Jake, it meant hunting. Hunting on foot, but more than that, learning to hunt from the back of his _ikran_. Well, and just flying, which was ALWAYS awesome. Every excuse he could get he was in the air with his new partner, cutting and banking, doing crazy dives and stall-flips just because they could, so when it was mentioned that someone needed to take the weekly meat supplement over to site 12, Jake was the first and most eager volunteer.

Nobody had any objections to his going, so that was how he ended up flying (with Neytiri as a guide since he'd never been to site 12 before) with a bundle of tapirus parts tied behind the brand new saddle he'd received the day after his inception party. His banshee had kept trying to swing his head around to investigate the food-smelling package until Neytiri handed him some other meat to feed him. Jake chuckled at the "foodsmellsgood/shouldgivememore" thought that came across the neural link as they drew closer to their destination.

"I'll take you hunting when we're done," he patted his boy's neck. He really needed a name for this guy, it wasn't right to just keep thinking of him as, well, "him". Maybe he'd talk with the science geeks out here and ask them for suggestions. If he remembered right, one of them was a bio-zoo-whatever - a guy that dealt with animals - maybe he'd be able to give Jake some background on banshees that might give him an idea for a name.

As they circled the complex of incongruous metallic buildings, both banshees suddenly became unsettled.

"What's wrong, boy?" Jake asked, stroking his neck.

"They smell _palulukan_," Neytiri called over to him, "maybe we check the camp before we land."

"A thanator nearby?" Jake gave her a look, "Well shit, that's not good."

She just nodded and directed her banshee into a wide swoop around before dropping through the canopy to fly low over the compound.

Jake was right behind her, and at first he didn't see anything, then he caught sight of someone - the girl avatar that was stationed here - waving to them cheerfully. He also saw a black shadow stalking through the rows of plants she was fussing with, and he swore. Maybe he could swoop down close enough to pick her up and get her out of there? He was just about to attempt that very maneuver when she caught sight of the shadow as well. Then she did something that totally blew his mind. She crouched down with her arms open, as if she was calling a child to come running to her, only what came running was...well, it was definitely a thanator, but it was also obviously a baby, and it was...nuzzling her affectionately? He shook his head. Okay something was very off here, but the only way he was going to find out what was up was by landing and talking to them himself.

His banshee was not going anywhere near the ground with that "fearbeast" there, so he landed in a nearby tree after he caught Neytiri's eye and gestured to her what he was doing, then he offloaded his cargo, gave his banshee another slip of meat for being so patient and well-behaved and started making his way down to the ground.

"_Faysawtute_! That one must be sick in the head!" Neytiri hissed as she landed behind him.

"Oh, I dunno," Jake shrugged, "you gotta admit, it _is_ a pretty cute baby, even if it _is_ gonna grow up to be a deadly predator and all."

"Hey! Jake, right?" the girl...what was her name again? Oh yeah, Louise...called out to him. She was linked to the baby thanator, and the two of them were walking over to meet him

"That's me," he nodded, shifting his bundle of meat slightly on his shoulder, "You're lucky I didn't have a gun on me or I might've accidentally shot your new pet there! Nobody mentioned..." He went silent as he all of a sudden became aware of a strange crooning sound. He looked around and saw two more baby thanators coming out of a nearby low hut. "Um..." he hesitated, freezing in place as the pair came up to him. He didn't want to make the wrong move here and get swiped by claws or bitten in an attempt to get at the meat he was carrying. He figured that must be what they wanted, since they were paying no attention at all to Neytiri.

"It's alright, they won't hurt you," Louise grinned at him, "they're more likely to try and beg."

He nodded slowly as the pair came right up to him and started rubbing and nudging their broad heads against him, making what almost sounded like purring noises. Well, he'd always liked cats... He lowered his free hand to lightly pass his fingers across one's forehead, and it stood, still purring, and placed all four front paws on his waist and hips, making the crooning noise again.

"Ama!" Louise scolded, "Bad manners! Momma's food!"

The baby turned its head, then dropped back down again, actually looking somewhat chagrined.

"You've trained them already?" Jake asked, raising an eyebrow. "Where do you want me to put the food?"

"We have a fridge in our avatar bunkhouse, just around the corner," Louise said, then she turned to yell over her shoulder, "Taka, Carlos, we have guests!"

"Great, lead the way," Jake shifted his load again.

"And it's not that we've trained them, more like I taught them a few words in English so I don't have to link to them every time I need to get their attention," Louise shook her head. "I've only got one queue, after all."

"Do you not fear their mother will come for them?" Neytiri finally spoke up from well behind Jake. She evidently had no desire to come too close to the baby "_palulukan_", as the Na'vi called them.

Louise shook her head, looking sad. "I _am_ their mother, well, I am now, anyway," she said. "I'll tell you the whole story later, or Taka will, since he's the one who rescued them."

Jake glanced down at the two that were still walking close enough to brush against his legs, and he noticed that one of them was looking up at him and had extended one of its neural whips toward him. "Um...is it...trying to bond with me or something?" he asked carefully.

"It's how they speak," Louise said, "don't worry, they aren't like banshees, they can bond with anyone, although they mostly tend to keep it in the family. But go ahead, you might as well see what she wants to say to you."

Somewhat cautiously, Jake reached his free hand up to pull his queue forward. Even though they were babies, the little thanators were still big enough that he didn't really have to lean over very far if at all to make the link, and it was...definitely different from linking to a horse or even to his carnivorous banshee.

«_Uncle brings more food after, brings food for sister and brother and Ama?_» it...no, she asked, sounding like nothing so much as a little kid who hoped to score some candy from a visitor who might not know the house rules about such things.

"I dunno," he said, "I think I'd better ask your mom about that, I don't know what you're allowed or not allowed." He glanced back to check on Neytiri, suddenly reminded of her habit of rewarding him for particularly good behaviour with bits of candied fruit, and eating that treat herself if he didn't perform up to her expectations. It was always so tempting to see if she tasted of its sweetness, especially when she smirked at him in that way that meant she was teasing him...

«_Daddy brought food before, smelled tasted so yummy!_» she said, and he could almost hear a mental giggle, «_but Daddy food was very messy. Mommy yelled at him and wouldn't nuzzle with him until he was all not-yummy again. Mommy kindof silly._»

Jake wasn't quite sure what to say to that, and her next statement only threw him more off-balance.

«_Uncle nuzzles with forest-smell Auntie? Wants to nuzzles, Ama can tell,_» Ama observed, «_Uncle should tell forest-smell Auntie he wants nuzzles or Ama will nuzzles first._»

"Um..." He shook his head, "Now isn't the right time," he said finally, "but after I put the food away how about we play hide and seek?"

«_Stalk and pounce? Uncle knows play stalk and pounce? Yesyes! Ama and sister and brother will play with Uncle!_» She disconnected from their bond then and quickly bonded with the other baby who'd been pacing alongside, then ran over to bond with the baby who was still bonded with Louise.

Louise just laughed. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into there, Jake," she said, "just be sure to remind them no claws allowed."

"Right," Jake nodded as they stepped up into the bunkhouse, "I'll keep that in mind."

Once he had loaded his bundle of meat into the refrigerator, Jake turned to see another avatar coming into the bunkhouse.

"Are my babies being good?" the man asked, and suddenly all three thanator cubs turned from where they'd been staring at the fridge and bounded over to him. "Right, because of course you couldn't have been begging, because that would have been bad manners, ne?" he laughed. He turned to Jake with a smile "Taka Nakami," he said, holding out his hand, "I don't think we'd had an opportunity to meet before you moved up to the mountains."

"Jake Sully," Jake shook hands with the man, "and this is Neytiri," he added, gesturing at his "teacher" with a smile, "So you're the one in charge of these three?" he gestured at the cubs.

"I'm their "daddy", yes," Taka nodded, "it's a big job but hey, I've raised big cats before, and they couldn't talk to me to tell me what was wrong." He looked down at the cubs with a gentle expression on his face. "They're a gift from Eywa, I guess you could say, and a responsibility, but I've gladly taken them on." He turned to Neytiri with a smile, then. "_Pleased to see you again, Neytiri,_" he said, "_You probably don't remember me, but I used to hang around the pa'li meadows a lot, and you rode circles around me a few times when you were younger_."

Neytiri frowned slightly. Then she remembered. This one had always been around the _pa'li_ meadows, or following _riti_ through the forest...he was the studier of animals. She had always thought he was a bit odd, but she'd had no idea he could be so insane as this! Living with _palulukan_ babies! And thinking of them as a gift of the all-mother, of all things! _Sawtute_ were strange, and _ayuniltìranyu_ even more so, if that was even possible. "_It is good to see you again,_" she nodded politely, "_I am curious how you ended up with such...unusual companions_."

Taka sat down on one of the beds, the _palulukan_ cubs cuddling around his legs. "_There is an utral aymokriyä near here where I often go to meditate,_" he explained to her, "_and one morning while I was there, the atokirina led me to these three. Their mother had died, and they knew Eywa had sent me to be their new parent_."

Neytiri sat across from him and watched him closely as he spoke, and she was very surprised to realize he didn't show any of the signs she had learned to use to recognize when _sawtute_ were lying. It seemed unbelievable to her, but her well-trained _tsahìk_ sense told her he was telling the truth, and he had, somehow, managed to make that deep connection to Eywa he was claiming. "_You are a...very unusual person,_" she said finally, "_but Eywa always chooses the one who will be right for the mission she gives them, and clearly you are the right one for this mission. After all, it is very unlikely any Na'vi would have taken on this burden, whether led by the atokirina or not_."

"_I am glad to be given such a family,_" he smiled, "_but you are right, not everyone would be suited to this. I grew up around _lions_ and other of Earth's big _cats_ so to me, having these babies around just feels like home. It feels right_."

Neytiri had been so focused on Taka she hadn't noticed one of the cubs moving toward her, and so she was startled when she felt a large, affectionate head bump against her. She looked down into eyes that...well, they were not quite as terrifying as they would be when this little one was grown, but there was still something that wanted to trigger deep, involuntary fears within her. The little one had its _tswin_ extended toward her in an unmistakable invitation, and even though she'd seen Jhake and the other woman, Luuisì, make _tsaheylu_ with these young _palulukan_ before, it didn't make the prospect any less unsettling. Still, she did not want to appear weak and afraid before Jhake - before Jhake and these _ayuniltìranyu_, she corrected herself - so she brought her _tswin_ forward as well, allowing the bond to be made.

She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but having made _tsaheylu_ with other creatures in her life, she was surely expecting a similar sort of experience, and yes, she did become aware of the sensations and general emotional state of the young _palulukan_ but more than that...well... It was more like speaking with a Na'vi child than the kind of "speaking" a _pa'li_ or _ikran_ was capable of.

«_Forest-smell Auntie should not make fear-smell,_» the child said, while it made a rumbling noise which she realized was supposed to be comforting, «_Tsuki and brother and sister like forest-smell Auntie. Brought-food Uncle likes so we like. Is pack with Daddy and Mommy? Is act like pack._»

«_We are friends, I suppose,_» Neytiri said in her mind. Unlike Jhake, she had made _tsaheylu_ enough times to be able to compose her words in silence, «_I did not know palulukan had groups, I always thought they hunted alone._»

«_People of Darkness, not Fear-bringer,_» the little one corrected, «_Hunting is alone, beforeMomma said; sleeping is not-alone. Sleeping is with pack._»

Neytiri marvelled at how that had never occurred to anyone before. That _palulukan_...no, perhaps she ought to use the word the little one had given, _tìvawmtute_ might hunt alone but sleep in groups. Then again, nobody went in search of where they might sleep, nobody was that foolish. «_We sleep in groups also,_» she nodded, «_it makes us happy to be with family._»

«_Pack is good,_» the little one agreed, «_Tsuki loves her pack. Tsuki is hungry. Forest-smell Auntie has food?_»

«_I'm afraid I don't, you will have to ask your parents,_» Neytiri said, and she couldn't help smiling. The little one...Tsuki?...really was just like any other child she'd ever been around.

«_Right. Ask Daddy,_» Tsuki broke _tsaheylu_ and bounded back over to Taka.

* * *

Some time later, as they watched the three thanator cubs playing "hide and seek" with Jake, Taka decided he might as well bite the bullet and ask the question he'd been thinking of asking ever since his first hunting expedition. He turned to Neytiri and cleared his throat. "_I was wondering,_" he started a little hesitantly, "_If someone might be willing to give me some instruction in hunting. I don't want to have to be constantly relying on the Omatikaya bringing us food, and now I have these three extra, hungry mouths to feed_."

"_I can understand the desire not to be dependent,_" Neytiri admitted, "_and your dedication to them speaks well of you, although perhaps not all would see it that way at first. I do not know, though; there is much more to hunting than simply killing an animal. You have to be able to find it as well, and that is not an easy task_. _Not to mention I have not seen you ever shoot a bow._"

Taka grinned. "_Oh, that part I have down,_" he shook his head, "_it's what to do with the animal after I've killed it and thanked it for its sacrifice that I'm not quite sure on. I brought down a yerik last week to feed the babies, but Louise was less than pleased with me when I came back covered in blood, and when I thought about it, that was probably a bad idea, since for sure I left a trail that any predators might pick up. I don't want a pack of nantang attacking because they think we're easy prey_."

Neytiri blinked and he could tell he'd surprised her. "_I had not thought any tawtute knew how to track prey,_" she admitted, "_although I suppose I ought to say any tawtute besides Jhake, whom I taught. You need, then, not hunting training so much as training in butchering?_"

"_Yes, exactly,_" he nodded, "_I need training in butchering_."

"_Well, Jhake can always use more training in that area as well,"_ Neytiri smiled, "_Perhaps we will drop by again soon, and take you hunting with us. Would that be acceptable to you?"_

"_That would be more than I ever expected,_" he bowed, "_Thank you so very much!_"

"_It is the right thing to do_." she shrugged. "Jhake!" she called out, "No more playing, it is time to go home!"

Taka laughed at the look of disappointment on Jake's face. He gave the piercing whistle he'd taught the babies meant "stop what you're doing and come to me" They bounded over, and Jake followed. He stopped in front of Taka as well, and knelt to hug each one of the babies in turn.

"I'll drop by again soon," he said, "um, when I can, I mean," he added, glancing over at Neytiri.

"We will come again," Neytiri nodded, "to teach Taka hunting. Now we need to get back to _Kelutral_. It has been longer than we were meant to be out here in the first place."

"Right," Jake nodded, "you're right, time to get going." With a final wave, he hurried after Neytiri, who had already started climbing the tree where their banshees had evidently decided to wait out the visit.

"I hadn't thought there was anyone as crazy as you out there," Carlos said, coming up next to Taka as they watched the pair mount up and fly off, "but I appear to have been wrong. That boy is completely nuts."

"Good man, though," Louise added. "He reminds me a lot of his brother, actually. But I guess that shouldn't surprise me, given that they're twins."

Taka just laughed and pulled Louise against his side. "We'd better get back to work as well. Time waits for no man, as they say."

* * *

**And if any of you want to know a little more about what went on between Norm and Trudy once they got home, well, I'll be posting a small side story detailing that probably within the next few days, but certainly before I post the next chapter of Brotherhood.**

**And now onward and downward to the vocab! There's a couple of new (and I mean really new - Frommer just told us about them a couple weeks ago) words in here, yay!**

**Vocab:**

**_uniltìranyu_/_ayuniltìranyu_ - Dreamwalker - an avatar  
**

**_tawtute_/_sawtute_ - sky person - a human  
**

**_ikran_ - banshee - the Na'vi flying mount  
**

**_tsyìp_ - "little", but in the way I've used it here, attached to a name, it's also a diminutive. That means depending on usage it could be affectionate or derisive, very much in the way that the Japanese use the suffex "-chan". It can be used also in a way that "_utral_" is tree and "_utral_****_tsyìp_" is bush.  
**

**_iknimaya_ - "stairway to heaven" - rite of passage to become a hunter  
**

**_skxawng_ - moron  
**

**'_itan_ - son  
**

**_pa'li_ - direhorse  
**

**_Sa'nok _- Mother_  
_**

**_yawnetu_ - beloved person - girlfriend/boyfriend  
**

**_Tsmukan_ - brother  
**

**_Ìnglisi_ - English  
**

**_täftxuyu _- weaver_  
_**

**_Irayo_ - Thank you  
**

**_tsmuke_ - sister  
**

**_yerik_ - hexapede - deer-like prey animal  
**

**_teylu_ - grub, common food of the Na'vi  
**

**'_angtsìk_ - hammerhead titanothere - those crazy rhino-like things  
**

**_tsamsiyu_ - warrior  
**

**_palulukan_ - thanator - big scary kitties  
**

**_Faysawtute_ - This actually means "these sky people", it's actually the first thing you hear Neytiri say in the movie  
**

**_riti_ - stingbat - little "birds" that are actually venomous  
**

**_utral aymokriyä_ - tree of voices  
**

**_atokirina_ - little messengers of Eywa  
**

**_tsahìk_ - interpreter of the will of Eywa  
**

**_tswin_ - queue. Yes, we finally have the Na'vi word for this!  
**

**_tsaheylu_ - the bond that can be formed between beings and flora on Pandora  
**

**_tìvawmtute_ - this is, essentially, the name Tsuki gave translated into Na'vi: ****"_tìvawm_" - darkness, "_tute_" - person  
**

**_nantang_ - viperwolf  
**

**_Kelutral_ - Hometree  
**


	22. Chapter 21: Minstrel a' Wandering

**Yay more goodies! Anyone who hasn't done it yet should go read "Night in the Forest House" for more of Norm and Trudy's adventure on the party night. Otherwise please feel free to proceed with this chapter. Friday I will be going to see Avatar again on the big screen! Woo! And it'll help me with a scene for the next chapter too, so it's purely research.**

**Yeah...didn't think you'd believe me on the research thing LOL  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 21 Minstrel a' Wandering

Back at Hometree, Tom was hard at work preparing for a trip. The morning after the party, when he'd woken and once he'd recovered from the slightly touchy stomach and sensitivity to light, he had suddenly remembered Ninat's statement the night before that he was going to be busy, and had wondered what with. He hadn't had to wonder for long. It was soon explained to him by a surprisingly happy-looking Antsu (of all people) that a trade delegation would be heading to one of the nearby clans, and it was to have four singers, two weavers, and two warriors along.

At first, Tom had assumed that he would be busy because he would have to pick up the slack of those who left, or some such thing, but that was when he got the bombshell dropped on him. The singer contingent of the delegation were to be Antsu, Ninat, Cathy and himself.

"_It is usual for a singer, once he has passed his first tests, to travel to other clans and learn of them,_" Antsu had explained, "_and when I mated to my Ka'tsi I was told that she would be sent upon our next trade mission as her test to become fully one of the Omatikaya. Sempul decided it would be best if the two tasks were combined into one. After all, there is no need for you to wait another month or two for the next trading trip, when you have shown yourself ready now_."

And so it was that, two days later, he was busily learning how to load packs onto _pa'li_ and how to saddle and care for them, along with perfecting his riding skills. Ninat had taken him riding a few times as they practiced various other things in the last couple of months, and he had luckily managed to figure it out without falling in the mud more than about ten times, but even so, he rode, as she put it, like a young child, half-afraid of his _pa'li_ deciding it was going to wander into a patch of thorns to get the annoyance off its back, so the more practice he got before he was going to have to spend all day in the saddle, the better. They were leaving first thing the next morning, and Tom was equal parts excited and terrified. The trip to the Anurai clan was going to take three to four days through the forest, and that meant _sleeping_ in the forest. He wasn't quite sure how that was going to go, but he presumed that since these trading trips happened, as far as he could tell, every couple of months, then it must mean they were relatively safe. Well, as safe as anything was in the jungles of Pandora. He'd seen a couple of funerals in the two months he'd been here, and only one of them had been due to old age.

Still, he reassured himself, there was strength in numbers, and they would have warriors with them in case something went very wrong. And now he would have a chance to experience a snapshot of life among a different clan! It was an opportunity he had never expected to have, or certainly not for quite some time. Ninat had told him the Anurai were potters in the same way that the Omatikaya were weavers, that it was constructing things out of clay that their clan specialized in, and he was interested to see how similar and yet different their home would be to his. To his adopted home, that was.

* * *

When they returned from their trip out to Site 12, Neytiri and Jake both agreed that it would be best not to mention the baby _palulukan_ to anyone. It was simply too unusual, and difficult to explain. Besides, Neytiri wanted to discuss what she'd learned with her mother before bringing Taka's self-instigated connection to Eywa into common discussion. "It is business for the _Tsahìk _only," she had explained to Jake, and he didn't dispute it.

"That's fine," he nodded, "besides, I don't wanna cause them any trouble, looks like they're busy enough as it is. I'll just make sure to be the one who brings them meat from now on."

Neytiri was inwardly surprised by his quick realization of something she hadn't even thought about yet. But then, that was Jake all over, always surprising her with his intelligence just when she'd finally decided he was nothing more than an utter _skxawng_.

He said something about wanting to visit with his brother for a midday meal, and she waved him off. "Go visit," she agreed, "I must speak with _Sa'nok_. I will come to collect you when it is again time for lessons." She smiled as she watched him run down the somewhat precarious path from the _ikran_ branches. She couldn't help but remember the first time she had brought him up here and how nervous he had been at the height. And now look at him, moving quickly and gracefully through those same branches almost like a true Na'vi.

She shook her head. She was becoming distracted from her true purpose. She headed down as well, moving toward the inner rings of _Kelutral_ and her mother's meditation area. Hopefully Mo'at was not out gathering herbs or berries, Neytiri did not relish the idea of having to hunt her down, only to be asked by everyone what could possibly be so important in the middle of the day that the future _Tsahìk _could not wait until evening to speak to the current one. People were on edge enough lately without unfounded worries to exacerbate the problem.

Luckily, Eywa was with her, and Mo'at was indeed in her meditation area near the base of _Kelutral_. Neytiri slipped inside through the beaded curtain and settled down across from her mother to wait. It was physically impossible for even the most silent of hunters to pass through those beads without making some amount of sound, so she knew that on at least some level Mo'at knew she was here, but to interrupt a meditation was not only extremely impolite, but also a very bad idea for more esoteric reasons.

After what seemed like an age but was really only a couple of minutes, Mo'at looked up. "_What brings you to me in the middle of the day, ma 'ite?_" she asked, "_I had thought you were busy with our newest young hunter_."

"_We flew out this morning to take meat to the ayuniltìranyu near the boarder, and there was a most unusual occurrence,_" Neytiri explained, "_of the sort which I think even with my training I am not yet ready to understand without your greater experience and understanding of the mind of the great mother_."

"_And it has clearly unsettled you to some degree,"_ Mo'at noted, "_so share with me what it is that you have seen_."

"_The uniltìranyu Taka, the one who studies animals, is among the group who have settled in that place,_" Neytiri began, "_and it is mostly him I was surprised by. Ma Sa'nok, he claims to have found an utral aymokriyä, and to have learned to understand at least a small amount of what Eywa intends for him, completely on his own and without training_."

"_And something makes you believe this claim?_" Mo'at gave her an inquisitive look. "_You would not be coming to me with this information if there was no proof of any sort_."

"_He seems to be speaking truth, or at least the truth as he understands it,_" Neytiri confirmed, "_and more than that, he...well, part of the purpose the great mother has given him is to place upon him the burden of raising a litter of young falulukan. They look upon him as their father, and obey him implicitly_."

"_Falulukan?"_ Mo'at was clearly as surprised and unsettled as Neytiri had been when she first saw the _palulukan_ being affectionate to Luuisì.

"_Yes, Sa'nok, falulukan. I, too, was shocked by their presence, but...Sa'nok, I spoke to one of them today, and it was so very different from tsaheylu with other animals. They are...aware more in the way the Na'vi are than in the way of animals. The baby, whom Taka has named "Tsuki", even told me they call themselves "People of Darkness" rather than palulukan_."

"_You...made tsaheylu with a palulukan?_" Mo'at stared at her, "_How can this be?_"

"_Tsuki was the one who came to me with her tswin extended, wishing to make the bond,_" Neytiri explained. "_It startled me as well, but Taka and Luuisì explained that tsaheylu is how they communicate between one another_."

"_As fa'li do,_" Mo'at nodded. "_I must meditate on this. Clearly, as you say, the hand of the great mother is at work here, but I do not know yet just how. You have given me much to think about, ma 'ite, and I will speak to you more on this subject when I have thought on how to approach it_."

"_Thank you, ma Sa'nok,_" Neytiri nodded, getting to her feet, "_I eagerly await your wisdom_." She slipped back out through the beaded curtain, feeling not all that much clearer about the whole situation, but grateful, at least, that a wiser head than her own was working on the problem. She might be _tsahìk_-trained, but she was also still young, and she knew it. She had many years before she would be as wise as her mother.

* * *

Once Jake had found his brother, he dragged Tom off to get some food. "So, I've been thinking," he said as they sat down together to eat.

"That's never a good sign," Tom laughed, "what have you been thinking about?"

"Well, I was talking to Taka today when I dropped off their meat shipment, and he told me what _ikran_ actually means...and I think I've finally come up with a name for mine, but I wanted to make sure it doesn't mean something nasty in Na'vi or something, so I figured I'd run it by you first."

Tom just shook his head. "Alright then, what's the name you've come up with?"

"Well, I figure if _ikran_ means "walks the heavens" then what would be better than calling him "Luke"?" Jake grinned widely.

Tom groaned and rolled his eyes. "I don't think "_luk"_ means anything," he said, "_luke-_, "without" is written the same way, but its "e" isn't silent, so you should be good. That's such a horrible pun, though."

"Maybe," Jake laughed, "but it also kinda suits him, so I figure I'll go with it."

Tom just shook his head again. "Da would've loved it," he said finally, "what with his early movie obsession."

"Yeah," Jake agreed with a sigh, "Da would've loved it here."

* * *

The next morning came early. Ninat had told Tom to be up before dawn, and when his alarm went off he felt as though he'd just laid down in his bed and closed his eyes. He groaned and rolled out of bed, not even bothering to change out of his pajamas as he groped through the hallways with his eyes barely cracked open. He knew he probably ought to eat something but he just couldn't be bothered to wake himself up quite that far. He was so close to still asleep, in fact, that he almost tripped over one of the techs heading in the same direction he was. Well, actually he _did_ trip over her, but only after he'd bumped into her and sent her tumbling to the floor. In any case, somehow the two of them ended up tangled in each other on the floor of the hallway leading to the link room.

At least that managed to wake Tom up, some. He hastily apologized, untangled himself and got back to his feet before helping her up as well. "Sorry about that," he shook his head, "clearly it's way too early in the morning."

"Clearly," the girl laughed, tossing her braided red hair back over her shoulder and holding out her hand. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. Moira Cassidy."

"Tom Sully," Tom shook her hand, "thanks for getting up so early to get me into link and all."

She just shrugged, "I'll just beg off for a nice little nap later, no point whinging about it now."

He had to smile. She had a faint accent that was clearer now that she was relaxing a bit, and it reminded him of the time he'd gone to visit their dad's folks back in Oz, only...not quite. "Kiwi?" he asked as they walked together into the link room.

"Good on ya!" she grinned, "Most folks get it wrong, 'specially you American types."

"Who said we were all-American?" Tom pouted at her, "Jake an' me; our Da's from down under, couldn't you tell?" He let the faint accent he and his twin had inherited from their father show through a little more than usual.

"Well then," she blinked, "I guess you're not all bad." She yawned and rubbed her eyes, "even making me wake up this early. Well, hop on in, might as well get to it," she waved in the direction of the link bed.

"Right," Tom laughed, shaking his head, "good thing I don't have to be totally coherent yet." He laid down into the familiar cradling softness of his link bed and pulled the cover down over himself, closing his eyes. His last thought was that he really ought to feel...something for the cute lab tech - physical at the very least - after all, he _was_ male and heterosexual, but the entire time he'd been talking to her, the only thing running through the back of his head had been that Ninat might get annoyed if he was late. He wasn't sure why that seemed so worrying, though, so the fleeting thought was quickly dismissed as he sat up in his _nivi_ and stretched, still feeling awfully sleepy but definitely better rested in this form.

* * *

The first few hours traveling through the jungle on horseback were fascinating; Tom found himself almost rubbernecking every time he saw a new vista or plant or anything he hadn't usually seen around Hometree, but somewhere around lunchtime the wonder began to fade a little as the discomfort of spending hours in the saddle began to make itself known. Someone must have noticed his shifting from buttcheek to buttcheek and taken pity on him, because right after lunch they walked the horses over to a river, and one of the warriors, grinning, immediately dived in to take a little swim.

Tom glanced over to Ninat, his surprise probably showing on his face. "_Do we have time?_" he asked.

"_Of course we have time,_" she grinned at him, "_It is not as though we are bearing news that cannot wait a little while longer or shorter_."

"_Tewti!"_ Tom grinned and slipped into the river as well, quickly followed by the rest of their party.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Hometree, Jake was keeping quite busy as well. Neytiri had gone off somewhere to talk to her mother about something (Jake wasn't sure if it had anything to do with the Site 12 folks, but he figured if it was anything important he could help with they'd come talk to him later) and had left him in the presumably capable hands of the other hunters. Today they were learning "huntspeak", which, when he'd heard that he had to learn _another_ language had briefly freaked him out, but as it turned out, the "speak" part was a bit of a misnomer. "Huntspeak" was actually the kind of sign language the hunters used between each other when hunting in groups so as not to alert the prey to their presence, and luckily enough even across star systems, when a guy's basic body shape didn't really change, a lot of hand signals, like directions and numbers, pretty much stayed the same.

Even though his language skills were still, he knew, pretty weak, Jake was starting to really find his place among the hunters, and most of them (not all yet, but then, he knew he was still _ketuwong_, "alien" to a lot of them, he wasn't going to push things) seemed to at least tolerate his presence. It helped that he was actually getting quite good at tracking. He'd been recon before, and that had tracking at the base of it too, it was just about learning a new environment and prey.

After lunch, it was deemed enough time had been spent on huntspeak for the day, and the group was split up into smaller cells of four, each with a well-experienced hunter/teacher as leader, and one of the new hunters, as well as two competent hunters as support. Neytiri still wasn't back yet from talking to Mo'at, so Jake got put with another female hunter/teacher and two males, all probably a couple of years older than himself, or older than his avatar body was anyway. He was glad, in a way, that he didn't get put with Tsu'tey, since that would have meant subtle abuse for every tiny mistake, but at the same time, he hadn't ever really met this "Peyral" girl before, and he had no idea what her English was like - if she even had any.

"So, um, what're we doing?" he asked as their small group slipped silently into the forest, heading east away from Hometree.

"We hunt," Peyral grinned at him. "First _smar_ is you. Run fast and quiet, Jhakesuuly!"

Jake blinked in surprise, but then a slow grin passed across his face. "I'll see you tonight, then," he laughed and took off into the underbrush. He'd played "hiding" games ever since he was a kid, and if he played this one right he might just be able to take out at least one or two of the three hunters. His ultimate objective was to neutralize Peyral, but given that she was the teacher, he knew she must be the best of the three, so he'd focus on the other two first.

* * *

Neytiri's meeting with her mother was, of course, about Taka and the babies, but the direction Mo'at had chosen to take was not one her daughter had expected, although, she realized, she really should have anticipated it.

"_Are you sure you do not want Sempul to be the one to fly you out with me?_" Neytiri asked her mother, "_His ikran is more familiar with you than Seze, after all_."

"_No,_" Mo'at laughed lightly, "_I love your father dearly but this is a matter for the Tsahìk; it would take far too long to explain everything to him and argue down all his worries - it would be days before I got him to agree that we need to see this strange uniltìranyu_."

Neytiri shook her head but she had to agree. Her father was a wonderful _Olo'eyktan_ but a leader of people did not always see the world the same way as the _Tsahìk_ did. After all, that was why Eywa had divided the leadership thus, so there would always be a system of checks and balances between them.

They had eaten a quick lunch and packed some treats, at Mo'at's insistence, to take with them to the _ayuniltìranyu_, and now Neytiri somehow found herself flying into Site 12 for the second day in a row. Seze was no more pleased than before about the scent of the _falulukan_ but Neytiri quickly shushed her as they landed in a nearby field, Seze taking to the treetops again as soon as her passengers had disembarked. They walked calmly into the _tawtute_ camp and were greeted by the cubs, who had sensed their approach and come to investigate.

One held its _tswin_ out to Neytiri, and almost without needing to think about it this time she made _tsaheylu_. Clearly this wasn't Tsuki, its sense was male rather than female.

«_Forest-smell auntie came back to play?_» he asked. «_Didn't bring Uncle this time._»

«_Not this time,_» Neytiri smiled at him, «_Mother and I came to speak to your father. Is he around?_»

«_Forest-smell auntie brought Grandmother?_» she felt a shiver go through his little body, «_Sano will tell Daddy right away! But first Sano and sisters say hello Grandmother proper way like beforeMommy taught._» With that Sano disconnected from his bond with Neytiri and scampered back to his sisters, linking to them briefly before all three came up to Mo'at.

"_They wish to greet you, ma Sa'nok,_" Neytiri explained, "_Something about the proper way to greet Grandmother?_"

All three babies knelt before Mo'at, bowing their heads politely. Mo'at smiled and touched each one's head in turn. "_Tam tam, little ones,"_ she said, "_it is good to meet you all_." She was initially a little surprised that none of them put its _tswin_ forward to her as the one who had spoken to Neytiri, but then she deduced that this was most likely also a sign of respect. They were waiting for her to take the initiative, and so she did, very briefly linking with each young _palulukan_ in turn before they straightened up and scampered off again. Truly Eywa had mysteries upon mysteries that not even the most enlightened _Tsahìk_ would ever understand completely.

Neytiri and Mo'at waited together at the edge of the camp, and it wasn't long before the babies came back with Taka in tow.

"_Greetings,_" he bowed, "_I am honoured by your visit, wise Tsahìk, if a little surprised. What is it that brings you all the way out to our camp?_"

"_My daughter told me of your children and the task you had been given by Eywa, and I wished to see for myself this uniltìranyu who has managed such insight all on his own,_" Mo'at said frankly.

Taka nodded. "_I suppose I should have expected such scrutiny,_" he admitted, "_Won't you both please come in and sit so we can discuss this in greater depth? I would be glad of any insight you might wish to pass on to me. I have made attempts to understand Eywa but I am the first to admit that I am quite out of my depth most of the time except when a directive is as clear as the message that sent me to find my babies here_." He stroked the head of one of the cubs, who were sticking close to him as they walked. "_Even among my own people I am no tsahìk, after all. Not even close. I'm just a humble man who happens to love animals and has dedicated his life to better understanding them_."

* * *

Jake grinned to himself. He'd managed to catch both of the assistant hunters already, sweeping them silently away as the hunting party spread out to look for his tracks. Each of the young men had grinned at him and said they were going back to Hometree, and he hadn't even had to tie them up and take them there or anything. Clearly, he wasn't the first one to take this approach to the game of being "prey". Now there was only one objective left; capture Peyral.

She'd gotten wary. He could tell by the way her tracks, already difficult to follow, had almost disappeared. But even the very best left _some_ sign, and Jake had gotten way better in the last couple months at using his nose for tracking as well. Of course, he was sure she was good at that as well, so he was doing his best to try to stay upwind of her.

For the other two he had simply dropped out of the trees onto them and taken them down in surprise attacks, but he didn't want to do that this time, for a couple of reasons. First of all, well, Peyral might be a hunter and his teacher, but she was also a girl, and he didn't want to accidentally grab the wrong thing and get in trouble, and secondly, he had a sneaking suspicion that she might just be alert to that kind of attack and slip through his clutches. He wasn't going to have two chances at this, he knew, so he had to get it right the first time, and that meant not just ambushing, but actually making some kind of physical trap. He would have done a pit trap or a snare, but both were just a little too tricky to do right without risking actual injury (not to mention pit traps took time he didn't have)

It looked like he was going to have to go with what he had on hand, and what he had on hand were lots of vines... Hmm...maybe this would work after all. He didn't have the skill with a bolo yet to make that sort of thing, and he didn't have the time to make an intricate net, but if he sortof combined the two ideas and made a really loose, weighted net that he could drop over her...

Jake drew his knife and quickly got to work slicing and gathering lengths of vine, always staying alert to how close his prey was coming to his location. He tied knots in the vines about an arm's length apart, not making a perfect, symmetrical net by any means, but then, it didn't have to last long. It didn't even really have to survive being dropped on her, it just had to foul up her limbs long enough for him to get a proper grip on her. He tied big cat's-paw knots in the loose ends of the vines, then laid the whole contraption over a tree limb that had a clear path below it. Now he just had to draw her out into the right spot, since there was no way he could run around in the trees carrying his new net.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to get a little clumsy," he laughed to himself as he silently moved closer to Peyral's position. He dropped back down to the forest floor, leaving a few tracks here and there - not enough to be obvious that he was leading her into a trap, but just enough to make it look like he was getting tired, overconfident or a combination of both. He left a nice big gap before the spot he wanted her to stand, then an obvious print with ambiguous directionality to draw her in and make her stop there to examine it. He continued the trail a little way out of the trap area, then doubled back and curled up into position next to his net, preparing to drop it. Now all he had to do was wait for her to pick up his scent.

* * *

Peyral smiled a little to herself as she caught a faint whiff of her quarry's scent. Jhake was turning out to be a much more challenging adversary than she had thought he would be. Even though she hadn't seen it happen, she was sure he'd already "captured" both her flanking guards, but she was not such an easy opponent, and she knew it. He was going to have to really work if he thought he was going to take her down, and from the look of his tracks he was beginning to get tired. Well after all, even with Neytiri's training for the past couple of months, he was still only a child. A child on the verge of manhood, but still a child, without the years of training to harden him so he could run for three days straight if he needed to.

Slowly and cautiously she followed the faint tracks, planning for how she was going to take him down once she caught up to him. At one point she almost thought she'd lost his trail again, but then she found one more track. She knelt to examine it better, just to make sure she knew which direction he'd taken, and that was when it happened. All of a sudden, she felt a weight hit her back. She tried to spin and draw her knife, but it wasn't Jhake on her back, it was a tangled bunch of vines, and they were actually impeding her movement to a great degree.

She heard a soft sound behind her, and was able to turn just enough to see Jhake's grinning face. He'd drawn his knife and held it briefly to her throat, although she didn't feel actively threatened. "_I caught you!_" he said, "_do you yield?_"

Peyral debated with herself briefly. She could possibly drop down flat on her back and avoid his knife, but that wouldn't get her out of her entanglement, and in any case this was only her first faceoff against Jhake. Next time she would be better prepared. Clearly his skill level was higher than she had anticipated, and she had walked into his trap. She might as well acknowledge his skill. "_I yield,_" she laughed, "_this time. Do not expect to catch me so easily again, young hunter._"

Jhake laughed as well and sheathed his knife, generously helping get all the vines off her. "I figured not," he said, "but you'd better not underestimate me either, I've still got a few tricks up my sleeves."

_Tawtute_ and their strange ways of speaking, Peyral sighed to herself. She understood what he meant though. This was definitely an interesting one. Perhaps she would have to request him as a trainee more regularly. "We should eat, drink after such a day," she said, "I will meet you at _Kelutral_." Knowing he would follow, she took off at an easy lope in the direction of home, letting her body carry her with ease over the terrain. This one was definitely, she decided, worth flirting with a little.

* * *

By the time the convoy pulled up to get ready for their first night in the forest, Tom was more than ready to get off his pa'li again. He supposed eventually he'd get used to the constant motion, but at the moment he felt achy and bruised in places he didn't even want to think about and the only thing he wanted was bed...whatever "bed" was out here. He hadn't even thought to ask! It hadn't helped either that he'd been getting random echo-flashes of adrenaline all afternoon. Whatever Jake had been doing it appeared he'd been having fun. Well, at least one of them was. Tom was so exhausted he just wanted to collapse. He didn't even really want to eat dinner, but he knew he'd regret it in the morning when he linked up again to a growling empty stomach, so he ate what was handed to him in something of a daze.

The food did help a bit, and he managed a smile for Ninat when she came over with fresh water.

"We set up the travel _aynivi_ now," she said, "you share with mine."

Tom wanted to protest, but he knew better, so he attempted logic instead. "_Are you sure that's alright?_" he asked carefully, "_I mean, I'm...well, male, is it alright for you to share with me? Shouldn't I have to share with one of the males?_"

Ninat just laughed. "_It is fine, Tom, none will think it strange, besides, when you sleep you are...not in your body. Someone must make sure that you are kept safe through the night while we are away from Kelutral._"

He hadn't even thought about that. "_I...suppose you have a point,_" he nodded, then he yawned, "_it isn't as if I'm going to be conscious. Alright, what do I need to do to help with the setting up?_"

"_Tonight nothing,_" she shook her head, "_you are too tired for one thing, and besides, if you watch tonight, you'll know for tomorrow. Come, we will use this tree to the left of the fa'li enclosure._"

Tom trailed after her as she headed for the tree she'd indicated, and he noticed that everyone was unpacking rolls of treated leather. It wasn't until they were unfolded that he realized they were actually something closer to a cross between a hammock and a pup tent, secured between branches to keep the sleepers off the ground but covered with a leather "tent" roof with supple reeds threaded through channels to keep it stiff so it didn't droop on the sleeping inhabitants. It was actually quite an ingenious design, and Tom would have happily spent half an hour or more examining just how it was made, but right now all he cared about was that it stayed up and that it was a place for him to sleep.

As soon as it was deemed that all was secure, it was time for sleep. Well, for everyone except the warrior who had first watch through the night. That wasn't Tom though, so he crawled into the surprisingly comfortable enclosure, trying to leave as much space as possible for Ninat to slip in as well but knowing, at the same time, that he couldn't sneak right over to the edge or the whole thing might tip. Once she was inside as well, and had tied the "door" of the tent portion closed, came the inevitable awkward moments. Tom had never shared a _nivi_ before, and he was surprised just how much negotiation and...well...touching was necessary in order to balance two bodies in one hammock, even a relatively decent-sized one which was clearly intended to hold two.

By the time they were settled, Ninat was clearly much more comfortable than Tom, but that was mostly because Tom had wrapped his arms tightly around himself, since the only other alternative was wrapping them around her, and no matter how many times she told him it didn't matter if that happened, it still seemed wrong to him. Bad enough that his tail had somehow ended up brushing against hers, and the way she curled up into a little ball was just adorable. God, it was so tempting, but...no, he didn't want to let himself pretend that much, it might turn into more than pretending and that wouldn't be fair to either of them.

"_Sleep well, Tom,_" he heard her whisper as he closed his eyes.

* * *

Once she was sure he was asleep, Ninat smiled a little to herself. If he was going to insist on going to sleep in such an uncomfortable position she would just have to adjust it for him now that he wasn't awake to complain. Besides which, she thought as she uncurled his arms and shifted in closer, letting them wrap around her shoulders, it would be...comforting to spend the night so close. This kind of touching wasn't totally innocent, but at the same time, Na'vi were far more accustomed to sleeping curled up around and touching their loved ones. She knew it was the right thing to do, for her and, in the morning, for him. Maybe in those moments when sleep began to give way to wakefulness he would let himself relax and enjoy a little closeness before he corrected himself. She knew his heart was capable, when his head wasn't getting in the way, and...well, she could tell sometimes that there was a great loneliness behind his eyes, even when he was surrounded by others. She didn't know how it was for _tawtute_ but loneliness was something that could make one so sick in the heart, and she didn't want that. For either of them.

She sighed a little to herself as she drifted into sleep. If only his sleeping body would react subconsciously to hold her instead of simply being draped around her, everything would be absolutely perfect.

* * *

**So did you all have fun? I know I did! Now here's a bit more fun for you all...**

**Vocab:**

**_Sempul_ - Father  
**

**_pa'li_ /_fa'li_ - direhorse  
**

**_palulukan_ /_falulukan_ - big scary kitty  
**

**_Tsahìk_ - spiritual leader  
**

**_skxawng_ - moron  
**

**_Sa'nok_ - mother  
**

**_ikran_ - big birdie you can ride on  
**

**_Kelutral_ - Hometree  
**

**'_ite_ - daughter  
**

**_uniltìranyu /ayuniltìranyu _- dreamwalker, avatar_  
_**

**_utral aymokriyä_ - tree of voices  
**

**_tsaheylu_ - the bond  
**

**_tswin_ - queue, the organ with which one makes the bond  
**

**_luke-_ - Like Tom said, this means "without", but it's not a word on its own, it's a prefix, thus the dash following it  
**

**_nivi_ /_aynivi_ - hammock  
**

**_Tewti_ - "wow!", an interjection of surprise and pleasure, so could also be translated as "awesome!" or "cool!" or whatever other similar interjection you want to put there.  
**

**_ketuwong _- alien_  
_**

**_smar_ - prey, the item which is hunted  
**

**_Sempul_ - father  
**

**_Olo'eyktan_ - clan leader  
**

**_tawtute_ - sky person, human  
**


	23. Chapter 22: Nights and Mornings

**Whee, another chapter not even a week later! I rock! Well, or inspiration from having seen the re-release rocks, more like (I totally recommend it, btw, it even has a little girl who is so totally Laneya...can't wait until I get that scene on DVD so I can freezeframe it and watch her every tiny expression!)**

**I realized after I posted the last chapter that I didn't explain about the Tom and Jake being part Aussie thing...to me it just makes sense. I've heard people whining about Sam's Australian accent peeking through at various points in the movie, but that's just foolish. I mean, why do they assume he doesn't have some legitimate reason for having a bit of an accent? I grew up with the "boy next door" (literally, they were our neighbors to the north) whose mother was from Australia, and he had almost exactly the same kind of very faint accent, particularly when excited or stressed. Of course, now he's lived in Australia for years, since he got sent there to boarding school after grade eight when he started to get in with the wrong crowd so he has a total Aussie accent, and I haven't seen him in years, but I've always wondered if we might've gotten together in different circumstances...**

**ANYWAY, getting back to the topic at hand...time for a little more fun with the twins! Enjoy, all!  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 22: Nights and Mornings

Tom linked up early that morning, with the intention of slipping out of the _nivi_ before Ninat woke up and maybe doing some serious stretching in preparation for another day of riding. Those intentions were quickly derailed, though, as he became aware of his avatar's senses again. He reflexively tightened his arms a little as he began to wake and realized that they were wrapped around a warm body which nuzzled against him, making a soft, contented sound.

He warily cracked one eye open, and once he'd adjusted to the dim light it was easy to see what had happened. Somehow in the night Ninat had cuddled up against him, slipping into the circle of his arms, and now she was fast asleep and there was no way to escape without waking her, since his left arm was trapped under her body. Well damn. With a sigh he bowed to the inevitable and cuddled her into a better position where her shoulder wasn't making his hand numb. If he was stuck here until she woke up (and he didn't have any intention of waking her if he didn't have to, she deserved a restful sleep just as much as anyone did) he might as well enjoy the fleeting experience while he could.

He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her, barely resisting the urge to stroke his fingers along the soft skin of her back. At least she was curled up in such a way that their chests weren't touching. He kept reminding himself it wasn't - couldn't be - real, that this body was only a shell he was borrowing and eventually he would have to "wake up" from the dream, but...well it felt pretty damned real.

He tucked her head comfortably under his chin and just breathed, resolving not to think about anything until she woke and just enjoy this brief opportunity. Because he couldn't let this happen again.

* * *

Ninat took a deep breath as she began to wake and reveled in the scent of him surrounding her. Truly, this was the way she wanted to wake every day from now on, although she knew it was too much to hope for just yet. She'd settle for every day on their travels, though. She didn't move yet. She could tell he was awake, because the position of his arms around her had changed, and his fingers were active, very lightly stroking her shoulder in an almost unconscious soothing gesture, and she was sure that if he knew she was awake he would stop.

She couldn't put off "waking up" forever though, and eventually she just had to shift a little as her curled-up position reminded her that certain things usually had to be dealt with upon waking. She tried to subtly uncurl and extend her laying-about time, but there was no way to do it while still seeming asleep. Tom's fingers stopped moving, and he moved his head so that she was no longer cuddled into the crook of his neck.

"Morning," he said softly, "you must've been cold in the night or something, you ended up tucked right against me. I would have gotten up to give you some privacy since I'm awake, but I didn't want to wake you up unnecessarily."

She tilted her head to smile up at him, "_I am glad you did not,_" she said, "_I enjoyed waking this morning with you. For Na'vi it is a more natural way, to sleep with others, together, letting the small touches of our bodies on each other bring reassurance._"

That made him smile, and banished a good deal of the worry that had been hiding in his eyes. "_Well now that we're both awake,_" he said, "_I had better get up. I woke early intending to do a little stretching to relax my body and prepare for the day's ride._"

That made Ninat giggle faintly. "_That is probably a very good idea, yes,_" she agreed, "_otherwise you will not be able to move by the time we arrive among the Anurai_." She rolled slightly and moved to extend her legs in preparation for getting up, but his tail wrapped around her ankle stopped her.

"_You don't have to get up yet,_" he smiled at her,"_feel free to be lazy a bit longer. The sun hasn't even really risen yet, you can afford a little more lying-around time._"

She patted his shoulder and shook her head slightly. "_It is kind of you to offer, but no, now that I am awake, there are certain needs which must be taken care of. Besides, it would not hurt for me to stretch a little too._"

"_Alright then, suit yourself,_" he smiled, "_I wouldn't mind the company, really._"

She felt his tail release her and moved again to leave, even though she didn't really want to. She wanted to lie curled up with him for the rest of the day, but of course that wasn't going to happen. She'd been pushing her luck even with the time she had managed to get. At least he didn't seem so wary as usual this morning. Of course, she was sure that once he was really properly awake the wariness would come back, but it seemed each time it returned a little less strong, and for that she was glad. And nothing made her progress more evident than the way his tail flicked slightly against her hip as she rolled over onto her hands and knees to open the door of the travel _nivi_. He might be able to control his other limbs from touching her, but his tail still seemed to have a mind of its own. Not that she minded one little bit.

* * *

Back at Hell's Gate, there was a very, very secret conference taking place. It involved only scientists, and if certain military factions had been aware of it, the participants would likely have been taken up for treason against the company. If there even was such a thing. Well, it didn't matter. If there wasn't yet, there would be once they'd been convicted of it. Gotta love the looming threat of martial law.

What were they doing exactly? Well, quite truthfully, they were plotting. Being scientists, they generally took the long view of things, and right now, the "long view" was looking particularly dire. They all knew the mistakes that had been made on Earth, and they could tell the situation on Pandora was not going to be any better if things continued to follow the corporate model laid down by the RDA. Mindlessly bulldozing through the forest toward the home of an entire clan of indigenous Na'vi because it was "only a tree" and there were "plenty of trees" spoke to a vast lack of compassion, but more than that, a lack of true understanding of the intricately interconnected nature of this planet.

"Now, look," Max Patel said, glancing around the room at the assembled techs and avatar drivers, "I'm not saying I want a coup or anything like that; frankly I hope it never comes to that point, but you have all seen what's going on here, and I don't think either Selfridge or Quaritch are going to back away from this ridiculous self-delusion that the Omatikaya can just pick up and move at a moment's notice. I just want to make sure that we're all ready for the inevitable outcome of that conflict."

"As far as I'm concerned - and I know the rest of the drivers feel the same way - we're only here at the sufferance of the Na'vi anyway," Nala shook her head, "Quaritch is playing with fire, and he doesn't even know how much he'll burn not only himself but every human on this planet if he sets the Na'vi off. Just because they aren't technologically advanced, it doesn't mean they don't have the resources to drive us all back to the stars if they pool those resources; and destroying one clan's village could be the very thing that brings the rest of the clans into play.

"But what can we do? I mean, currently," a young man with curly blond hair - Dolan McCool, Max remembered after a moment's thought - asked, "It isn't as if we can just take over the base, we don't have anything close to those kind of resources or numbers, and as far as I've seen nobody actually thinks they should listen to the scientists."

"For now all we can do is watch, and try to find some way to give the Omatikaya advanced warning if we can," Max sighed, "I know that's part of what Tom Sully is supposed to be doing, but right now he isn't even at Hometree, so we'll have to take over for him until he gets back there."

"If it comes to it, you know we'll all do what we have to," the other McCool brother, Bailey, spoke up. "But for now, yes, I'm thinking we could all manage quite the little spy network. It isn't as though anyone pays attention to us; lab techs especially," he laughed, winking at his older brother, "We'll gather all the info we can, and you can decide what to do with it, Max. Since Grace isn't around, you'll do for the head of out little spy agency."

Max blushed, and a light round of laughter made its way through the secure meeting room they were using. "I'm honoured you would think of me like that," he protested, "but there are other people better suited..."

"None I can think of," Xander Montague, the Marine Biologist avatar driver shook his head, and his sentiment was echoed around the table, "You are head of the lab under Grace, after all."

Max sighed but acquiesced. "Alright then, fine," he said, "if you really want me to be in charge of all this, I'll take on that rather dubious honour, but I have to say I never imagined I would end up being the head of an underground spy ring working against the company that hired me."

Nandu Maran, one of the eldest among them, reached over to pat his arm. "Often one achieves honours one never expected as life goes on," he smiled, "but it is a wise man who trusts the judgement of those who have placed their trust in him. You are the right man for the job, Max, and we all know it."

Max shook his head ruefully. "My first suggestion as leader, then, is that for now, we keep this to ourselves. And by that I mean, don't trouble the Sulleys, Grace or any of the others currently at the outlying labs with our concerns. There's nothing Tom can do for now, as we said, and I don't like the thought of anyone listening in on communications to Grace. Until we have some kind of super-secure channel, we maintain radio silence on this issue and just act as though nothing has changed."

There was a general nodding of heads and murmuring of agreement around the room, and Max relaxed slightly. This was completely insane, but it somehow actually made him feel a little better about the situation. Doing something, he supposed, was always more reassuring than doing nothing.

"Right, unless anyone else has any suggestions, I think we'd better call this meeting adjourned then, before anyone comes looking for us and gets suspicious when the lab is completely empty," Max pointed out, "I'll let all of you know when the next meeting is to be held, until then, quietly gather as much information as you can. Maybe we'll actually find something we can work with to make a difference when this all goes to pot."

* * *

After the trading party had eaten, packed up and set off on their way, Ninat rode up next to Antsu, smiling at her older brother.

"_May I talk to you a little away?_" she asked, and he could hear the hint of hesitancy in her voice.

"_Of course,_" he nodded and encouraged his _pa'li_ to move ahead of the rest of the group, "_What is troubling you, ma tsmuke?_"

"_I wondered if...if it bothers you that Ka'tsi tsmuke must leave every night when she sleeps; that her spirit is not there with you although her body remains?_"

"_Ah,_" he nodded thoughtfully. He suspected he knew the reason for her question, but he didn't ask. To love an _uniltìranyu_ was not an easy thing, in some ways, and there were certain aspects of that relationship which one simply had to come to terms with in whatever way one could. He would not begrudge his little sister her heart's desire if that truly was how things lay between them, but Antsu would definitely be keeping a closer eye on him, to make sure all was as it should be.

"_It is not always easy, I will admit,_" he began finally, after thinking about how to explain, "_but for now at least it is simply the way of things. She cannot be always in this body even if she might wish that it could be so; she has to return to rest in her other form. It does not trouble me all that much, though,_" he smiled, "_since usually I do not notice her spirit's absence when I am sleeping myself._"

"_I had not thought of that,_" Ninat nodded thoughtfully, "_While you are sleeping your body still holds hers, and I suppose there is little difference between sleeping normally and sleeping empty of a soul._"

"_Very little,_" Antsu agreed, "_at least until the time comes to wake up. I will admit there are times when I wish I could simply shake Ka'tsi's shoulder gently and have her open her eyes and smile at me at the time of my own choosing instead of when she is able to return her soul to this body again. Truly, though, I think it is harder for her than it is for me_"

"_Oh? Why is that?_" Ninat asked, cocking her head curiously.

"_For me, I still have her warm body to cuddle close to my own, even if her spirit roams elsewhere,_" he explained, "_for her, she has no such comfort. When she goes back to her other body she must sleep alone._"

Ninat bit her lip and glanced over to where Ka'tsi was riding beside Tom, laughing and presumably teasing him about his riding skills or some such thing. "_I never realized,_" she shook her head, "_although thinking about it now I should have._"

Antsu reached over to pat her arm soothingly. "_Do not let the thought of it trouble you, ma tsmuke,_" he reassured her, "_I remind Ka'tsi every night that no matter where she is we are together, and I would not trade the small difficulties we face for a trouble-free relationship with another who is not her. All will be well for us in the end, I know it is so._"

"_Thank you, ma tsmukan,_" Ninat smiled at him, "_for everything._" She dropped back to join the rest of the party again and he watched her go, a small frown crossing his brow. He wanted her to find happiness as he had, but still, she _was_ his little sister. Perhaps he ought to speak to Tom a little more and find out whether the feelings were mutual... But that could wait until they reached their destination and he had a better chance of true privacy for the discussion. Ninat would be cross with him if she thought he was trying to interfere, after all.

* * *

Flying through the forest rather than over it was, Jake quickly discovered, quite a bit more work. Mostly because of the constant banking around tree limbs, giant leaves, vines and a hundred other obstacles. Still, it was a ton of fun. He glanced over his shoulder at Neytiri flying just behind and to his left and she grinned back at him, then stood, balanced, drew her bow and took a shot, hitting a target painted high on a nearby tree as they passed it.

"Now you!" she called out to him.

As if the flying on its own wasn't tricky enough! But he was up to the challenge. He circled back around to get into position then carefully stood, his balance more than a little precarious. At least Luke was working with him, remaining in an incredibly stable glide as he drew his bow back, quickly aimed and released as they passed by the target.

"Woohoo!" he couldn't resist a small fist-pump when he caught sight of his arrow in the outer rings of the target.

"You did not bring it down," Neytiri shook her head, "go again."

"Right, right," he rolled his eyes, "we're going, jeez!" He grinned as he stroked Luke's neck, "Don't ever get involved with a female, boy, they're total slave-drivers."

He could feel the amusement through the link, and he shook his head. "Laugh about it later, we gotta concentrate now."

Luke banked gently and they swept around the corner, then Jake focused his attention down to a razor's edge as he crouched, preparing to get into position for the next run on the target.

* * *

Late that afternoon, Tom suddenly became aware that there were sounds of other people nearby. There was no way they had reached their final destination this soon, so he was confused at first, but then Cathy grinned at him.

"Looks like our path is taking us right by Site 12," she said with a little laugh, "we should probably stop in and say "hello" at the very least. Otherwise I'll never get a moment's sleep once I unlink."

"Louise never did really forgive you for not introducing Antsu properly," Tom agreed, laughing, "you'd better correct that oversight as soon as possible."

Cathy rolled her eyes at him, but rode quickly forward to speak with Antsu and the warrior who were leading their party, and then, after a brief conversation, Tom was surprised to see her ride off in the direction of the mobile link site on her own.

The rest of their party turned to follow her, or rather, their leaders did and everyone followed, and it wasn't long at all before they came out of the forest into what looked to be a natural clearing with a small linkup complex on the far side and rows of cultivated plants in the middle. Cathy had already dismounted before they got there, and for some reason had left her _pa'li_ on their side of the clearing. Tom could see her talking to another avatar near what he presumed to be the avatars' sleeping area, and she waved at them, signalling them to stay where they were as she quickly strode back over to them.

Tom's _pa'li_ snorted nervously as they waited for her, shying sideways a little. Clearly something was bothering it, but Tom didn't yet have a good enough understanding of the way the animal thought to pick up on anything more than that it was a "bad smell" which had unsettled it, and that could easily be explained by the human-created buildings. He sent a calming thought to it through the bond and stroked its neck. "Easy boy," he said, "nothing here is going to hurt you."

"_Louise says we're more than welcome to visit,_" Cathy said with a smile as she reached them, "_but that we should leave the fa'li here. She doesn't want them getting spooked by their... children._"

Tom blinked at that. He was quite sure neither Louise nor Taka had children, and although he hadn't really spent much time talking to Carlos he had thought the man a confirmed bachelor, and besides all that, why would children upset the _fa'li_? Something seemed a little off, here, but he was sure everything would make sense once he'd had a chance to ask Louise what was going on.

Everyone dismounted, each instructing their particular _pa'li_ not to stray before they headed across the clearing. They gathered around Louise and introductions were quickly made, then Louise looked at them all carefully.

"_I want you to meet a very important part of my family,_" she said, "_I will bring my children out to visit with you, but I must have your promise that none of you will try to hurt them. They are not...usual children, but I assure you they will not hurt you - they would not even think of it - and I will not allow them to be hurt simply because their appearance might frighten you._"

A fair number of confused glances passed around the group, but everyone agreed that of course they would never hurt any child, even if the child was a little unusual.

"Alright Taka, you can bring them out now," Louise called over her shoulder, smiling but watching them carefully.

She seemed awfully concerned - more than was normal even for the most fragile child, but then Tom caught sight of the group coming out of the avatar bunkhouse, and he immediately realized why. They weren't human children, or even Na'vi children... they were baby thanators. Although the term "baby" was a bit deceptive given that they were probably about the size of Irish wolfhounds.

Most of the group jumped back almost instinctively, and there was a fair amount of hissing, although they did keep their word and no weapons were raised. Tom could feel Ninat trembling as she pressed close against his side, and he wrapped a reassuring arm around her shoulders.

"They won't do anything to you," Taka said, stroking the baby that - Tom noticed - he was linked up to. "The worst they might do is beg for food, and that's just bad manners...so you won't do that, will you, _chibi-tachi_?"

All three babies nuzzled him affectionately before looking around at the group. Tom wasn't sure, but he coud've sworn all three were staring at him intently, then they came trotting over and he _knew_ they must've been looking at him, because all three of them stopped right in front of him and made crooning noises, nuzzling his hands. One of them moved a little behind him and linked its queue to his, and he was startled at the sudden connection.

It seemed like the little one was startled as well. «_Is __**not**__ brought-meat uncle?_» the cub asked, confusion clear in her mental voice, «_Looks/smells like brought-meat uncle. Is littermate?_»

"Did Jake meet these little guys?" Tom asked, looking over at Taka.

"He dropped by a couple days ago," Taka confirmed. "They must've thought you were him."

"Yup," Tom laughed. He looked down at the cub he was linked to, "I'm Tom," he said, "You're right, we are what you'd call littermates."

«_Uncle Tom knows play stalk and pounce too? Brought-meat uncle was good at play stalk and pounce, Ama had fun!_»

"Stalk and pounce?" Tom blinked, but he could well imagine what kind of game that would be, "maybe later, I've been traveling all day and am very tired right now."

«_Okay, we play stalk and pounce when uncle Tom not tired,_» the little one nuzzled him affectionately, «_Ama go say hello to other uncles and aunties now, play later._»

* * *

It took a little time and a lot of what Tom was sure was peer pressure, but eventually all the Na'vi had talked with at least one of the thanator cubs. Surprisingly enough, they had actually managed to convince their escorting warriors into a game of "stalk and pounce", so while the warriors and the cubs played, Taka and Tom were chatting about various topics.

"They actually remind me a little of baby tigers," Tom smiled as he watched the game. "I don't know if I told you, just before I left there was a big kerfuffle on the news about an actually successful litter of Siberian tigers."

"They did it?" Taka asked excitedly, "Oh man...that's awesome news, even if it is a few years old. The lab that was working on that? That's where I grew up! My parents run it."

"Wait, seriously?" Tom laughed, "talk about small world...or maybe I should say small universe?"

"Something like that," Taka laughed, shaking his head. "He...really cares about her, doesn't he?" he said then, his tone more serious and quiet.

"Hm?" Tom followed his gaze, catching sight of Antsu and Cathy talking, their heads close together and their body language clear. "Yeah," he said, "he really does. And she cares just as much about him. From everything I've seen living among the Na'vi for the past month or so, the bond between mates is something far stronger than any human relationship I've ever known... and that includes my parents, who I'd always thought of as one of the most committed couples I had ever experienced."

"Even for an avatar?"

"Even for an avatar," Tom confirmed, "There's just something...different about the way relationships seem to work here. It probably has something to do with the physiological effects of _tsaheylu_, but it's likely that there's a cultural component as well. I mean, I suppose when one is unattached there is some amount of competition between potential suitors, just like with humans, but there seems to be a lot less concern behind it. I don't know," he shrugged, "maybe I just haven't been around long enough to really get a clear picture, but it just seems more... honest. It might have something to do with the fact that they believe if the mating is right, if it's meant to be, it will be blessed by Eywa, whatever that means. I tried asking Cathy, but she just smiled and told me it was a secret I'd have to find out for myself, whatever she means by that."

That made Taka grin. "Oh, I don't know, I think I know exactly what she meant by that," he said, but before Tom could ask what he was implying or dispute any wrong assumptions he might be making, both of them were distracted by the couple they had still been observing heading in the direction of the avatars' sleeping hut.

The two of them walked quickly over just in time to see Cathy lie down and unlink, the slumping of her avatar into unconsciousness being easily recognisable to both.

"_Is there something wrong?_" Tom asked Antsu.

"_No, nothing is wrong,_" Antsu shook his head with a smile, "_although it is good to know you would react so quickly in concern for my mate. No, I merely wondered what Ka'tsi's other form looked like, since she said this is the place where she keeps it._"

A couple of minutes later, with a soft hiss of air exchange, the "real" Cathy walked out of the habmod, her exopack on and with a big grin on her face.

"_So,_" she said, doing a slow twirl, "_this is me. Pretty cute, hmm?_"

"_We've always thought so, haven't we, Taka?_" Tom teased.

"_Oh I don't know,_" Taka raised an eyebrow, "_she's got some cute features I suppose, but I've always thought Louise was cuter._"

"_Well, neither of you really matters anyway,_" she rolled her eyes at them, then turned to Antsu, "_Do I look anything like you imagined?_"

He ran his fingers over her honey blonde hair, loosening it out of its ponytail to hang halfway down her back as he crouched down to her level. "_Not quite as I imagined, but even in this form you are beautiful,_" he smiled at his mate. "_I have never seen hair of such a colour before, and...your eyes are blue?_"

Tom watched the two carefully as Cathy took a breath and slipped her mask up for a moment, letting Antsu run his fingers over her face. "She looks really tired," he said quietly to Taka, "How much rest has she been getting?"

"Probably not enough," Taka admitted, "I know I should probably remind her to spend a little more time unlinked and sleeping, but..."

"But now isn't the time," Tom nodded, "Once we're not on the road, I'll try and get on her case a bit about it. I'd hate to see her have a breakdown and have to spend days or weeks out of link...or worse."

"I'll keep on her about it as well," Taka agreed, "Even if I am a bit distracted at the moment, as team lead out here it _is_ my responsibility to ensure all the members of my team are healthy and getting proper rest...well, or as close to proper rest as any avatar driver can ever be convinced to take. You know how it is."

"Oh definitely," Tom shook his head, "I'm very familiar with how little real rest we get."

* * *

Back at the Omatikaya _Kelutral_, Neytiri and Mo'at were deep in discussion as the clan prepared for the evening meal.

"_You will see them again soon, will you not, ma 'ite?_" Mo'at asked, her hands busy with a bundle of items, most of which Neytiri was familiar with. They were some of the most basic herbal medicines, as well as a few of the tools and herbs used only by those _tsahìk_-trained to assist in meditation and the understanding of Eywa's messages.

"_I have promised to bring Jake and teach Taka more about hunting and butchering, so that he will be better able to take care of his family without needing to rely on the clan,_" she confirmed, "_not that I have any objection to bringing meat to them myself, but he wished to be more independent, and I can understand the sentiment._"

"_Indeed,_" Mo'at nodded. "_In that case, perhaps when you go, you could bring him these small gifts from me and give him some instruction on how to use them. In my meditations on his situation, the Great Mother showed me that he will have need of them in the future, and it is best that he begin to learn now, to be prepared before the need arises rather than trying to learn in a hurry when the need is great and the risk as well._"

"_If that is what you ask of me, ma Sa'nok, then of course I will give him some basic instruction,_" Neytiri nodded, a little surprised. "_You believe he has the ability to undertake tsahìk training, then?_"

"_Surprisingly enough, yes, I do,_" Mo'at nodded, "_although only enough so that he will not be overcome by confusion when the Great Mother guides him as her instrument. He will likely never become a fully trained tsahìk, but ability without training is far more dangerous than training without ability._"

"_Of course, ma Sa'nok,_" Neytiri bowed her head, "_as always, your wisdom far outstrips mine._"

* * *

Jake was a little surprised but not all that concerned when Neytiri didn't meet him at the eating area for dinner. She'd been summoned to talk to Mo'at about something, and Jake knew that sometimes those "somethings" took longer to work out than initially expected. Especially when it was two women discussing them. Girls weren't like guys in that regard, they had a really bad tendency toward tangents...

He sat down near his usual spot after gathering a plate of food, being sure to leave enough room for Neytiri when she did arrive, and settled in to eat. It had been a busy day, most of which had been spent in the air, and he was more than ready for some serious chowing down.

He had just started into his _teylu_ when someone sat down in the empty spot, and he looked over with a smile for Neytiri, but...

"_I See you, Jhake,_" Peyral said with a smile, "_I hope you do not mind me joining you for a meal._"

"Oh, um, sure," Jake shrugged, turning back to his food, "_Oel ngatì kameie, Peyral,_" he added, gesturing politely.

"_You fly well, Jhake,_" she said, her tail flicking casually against his as she lifted her own plate and began to eat, "_I watched you today as you flew with Neytiri. She has taught you well. Perhaps I will join you tomorrow. It is always good for a new ikran to meet many others he may be flying with for hunts, and given your skill, I have no doubt we will hunt together much in the future._"

"I guess," Jake nodded, "I don't have a problem with it, but you'll have to ask Neytiri. She's still the one in charge of my training and whatnot." He tried not to react as her tail slid along his. It might be accidental or subconscious, but either way, it didn't make him feel particularly comfortable. Peyral reminded him a lot of one of his closest friends among the Marines, Meilin, who'd been like a little sister to him, and had been injured at the same time he was, so the thought of her flirting with him, even if that _wasn't_ what she was doing (he couldn't be sure) was more than a little weird.

"_I do not mind if you join us, Peyral,_" Neytiri said from behind them, "_as long as you are not a distraction to my student._"

Jake turned to grin at her and quickly shoved over, making room for Neytiri to sit between Peyral and himself. "I wondered if you were gonna make it to dinner at all," he said as she squeezed into the space he'd made, setting down her plate briefly to settle herself more comfortably before beginning to eat.

"Mother had much to say," she shrugged, "I hope I did not interrupt your bonding of friendship."

"_Not at all, tsmuke,_" Peyral grinned, and the slightly feral nature of it made Jake shiver involuntarily, "_I am sure Jhake and I will become quite good friends, as you and I have always been, or perhaps even closer. He is quite extraordinary, after all._"

"_I am not sure that is quite the word I would use,_" Neytiri laughed, and Jake breathed a sigh of relief as the brief tension he'd felt seemed to wash away, leaving a much more normal dinner conversation between hunters.

* * *

That night, as she lay in her _nivi_, Neytiri was finding it very hard to fall asleep. The events at dinner kept running through her mind over and over, even though it was ridiculous that they should bother her so much. So Peyral had been flirting with Jake...that was a _good_ thing, right? Peyral _never_ flirted with the males, even though she had many potential suitors, and _Sa'nok_ had more than once expressed her concern that their strongest huntress would someday leave them for another clan, chasing after the mate she had yet to meet... so Neytiri, as future _tsahìk_, ought to be glad at the thought of her clan sister finding a man among their own, if Jake could be considered such.

Besides, she reminded herself, she had decided even before Jake's _iknimaya_ that she must look for potential mates for him among the clan, and Peyral and he would be a good match, both strong hunters and with similar senses of humour... So why was this troubling her so much?

She gazed over at Jake's sleeping form in the _nivi_ next to hers and sighed. It was troubling her because when she had come up behind them and seen Peyral's tail sliding so possessively along Jake's and him not rejecting her advances automatically, her heart had hurt and, if she was being honest, she had felt more than a hint of jealousy. Which was stupid. Jake wasn't hers, he never would be, he _couldn't_ be. Still, she had been more than unduly relieved when Jake moved to allow her to sit as a buffer between them as soon as he knew she was there, and the relieved smile on his face at the sight of her had been both gratifying and very soothing...and if she had continued to sit pressed close against Jake's side even when Peyral had shifted to give her a little more room, well, he would never know, so what would it hurt?

* * *

**Poor Neytiri, still in denial, although she's starting to slip up more and more... She shouldn't worry though, he doesn't think of Peyral in that way _at all_! Which won't stop Peyral from trying, of course. LOL she is a skilled huntress, after all.**

**And now for everyone's favourite section...  
**

**Vocab:**

**Na'vi:  
**

_**nivi **_**- hammock  
**

**_pa'li /fa'li_ - direhorse(s)  
**

**_tsmuke _- sister  
**

**_uniltìranyu _- dreamwalker, avatar  
**

**_tsmukan _- brother  
**

**_tsaheylu _- the bond...a wonderful thing we all wish we could experience for ourselves  
**

**_Kelutral _- Hometree  
**

**_'ite_ - daughter  
**

**_tsahìk _- spiritual leader  
**

**_sa'nok_ - mother  
**

**_teylu _- yummy edible grubs  
**

**_Oel ngatì kameie_ - "I See you"  
**

**_ikran _- banshee (I want one!)  
**

**_iknimaya _- rite of passage where you get a banshee  
**

**Japanese:**

**_chibi-tachi_ - little ones**


	24. Chapter 23: To Make a Bond

**Hey lookit me! Updating after only like 4 days! I can't promise it'll happen again, although you never know. It helped that I had a lot of this chapter already planned out in my head, so at least I knew where I was going...mostly.**

**I had an interesting review to the last chapter with some questions which I feel do definitely have to be answered, so here are the answers for you:**

_**First a qroup of Na'vi with Tom**_  
_**was heading on a trading mission to the Anurai Clan. Most members of the**_  
_**Anurai Clan were slaughtered by Sean Wallen, who wanted their artifacts so**_  
_**that he could sell them on Earth's black market in the Avatar the Game Wii/PSP**_  
_**version.**_

**On the Aunrai, I knew_ somebody_ was bound to catch me out on this one...weellll, see, I don't play computer games of any kind, and I simply picked a "clan name" I liked out of a list I found. When I found the background information on them later, it was too late to fix things and use another name, so basically I just ignore the game information. And you should too, it's full of errors anyway XP.**

_**Also I read that the Na'vi have no concept of trade in the Avatar An**_  
_**Activist Guide and on the Avatar Wiki site.**_

**On the trading thing...I'm curious where the reviewer found this in the ASG since I can't find it on an admittedly quick read-through. What I'm basing the trading on is the "Loom" information on p.41 "While other Na'vi clans ... organize themselves around carving or pottery, the Omatcaya(sic) are renowned for their brilliant textiles."**

**_Also the Na'vi seem to be getting_**  
**_along a little too well with the avatars. In the beginning of the movie,_**  
**_Selfridge said that the RDA and the Na'vi were at the brink of war._**

**As far as what Parker said re: the Na'vi getting along with Avatars, I look at anything seen from the Human perspective with a fairly jaded eye. Parker WANTS to be the "good guy" and besides that, we're talking about their reaction to dozers and their escorts being on Omatikaya territory, not their reaction to the individual "dreamwalkers" who might live among or near them.**

**Anyway I hope that answers any questions anyone may have had, now please, proceed to the fun part...the story!

* * *

  
**

Brotherhood Chapter 23: To Make a Bond

Tsu'tey frowned thoughtfully to himself as he examined the tracks. It had been a few seasons since he did the preparatory scouting for the _talioang _hunt himself, but he had felt the need for a little space, and to be out here among the trees without any direct responsibilities.

He wasn't afraid to admit to himself (although he wouldn't admit such a thing to anyone else) that he was feeling somewhat conflicted. He was more than ready to hate all the _uniltìranyu_, and yet... He had come to accept Antsu's mate, Ka'tsi; especially after Antsu himself had spoken to him, and the singer twin of the _skxawng_ was completely unobjectionable, although he hadn't spoken to the young man directly. And then there was the _skxawng_ himself...Jhakesuuly. Even Tsu'tey had to acknowledge the young man was skilled. He had actually managed to take down Peyral, although certainly she had not been trying as hard as she might have. After all, who expected a newly-minted _taronyu_ to have the kind of skills necessary to track his own trackers and capture all three of them the first time out?

Peyral certainly seemed impressed by him. Tsu'tey could not remember the last time he'd seen his valued lieutenant actually express any kind of interest other that sisterly concern for a male, but ever since that first hunting exercise she had been making every excuse she could to spend time around Jhake. It was something of a relief to Tsu'tey to see a distraction coming between Jhake and Neytiri... and what a distraction. Peyral was both an admirably powerful huntress and a vibrant, beautiful woman; someone Tsu'tey willingly admitted he might have pursued himself in the time after Sylwanin's death, had he not been re-promised to Neytiri. Not that he thought it likely Peyral would have put up with that. She was also strongly opinionated, and he knew she had never yet found anyone who she could consider a possible mate.

If it came to be that she chose Jhake to be that mate, he would accept it. As long as he could be shown that Jhake understood and respected the great worth of the woman who was showing interest in him. Because even if Tsu'tey would never pursue Peyral himself, he still thought of her as a close hunt-sister, and would protect her happiness with all that he had.

He shook his head. Too much thinking, even for one who would one day rule. What he needed right now was less thinking and more running. He took one more glance at the tracks he had stopped to examine and got to his feet again, running lightly alongside their path, heading toward the upper range of the _talioang_ herds.

* * *

After a couple of days, Tom had become much more used to the constant motion of his _pa'li_ as they rode, and was even beginning to become actually happy to mount up again after each stop. In the enforced closeness required by their travels, he'd become quite friendly with all his companions, although at the moment he was riding on his own.

He closed his eyes, taking in the scents and sounds of the forest, and smiled to himself. He was reminded once again of their parents, and how much their father would have loved to be able to come here to Pandora; to its unspoiled forests and people. Although he never would have left their mother.

Jim Sully had been born in Australia in one of the underground cities, although he'd had above-ground cousins he often visited, and those visits had led to a fascination with his country's history and prehistory, which had then led him to a PhD in Anthropological Genetics. It was his second doctorate, in Xenobiology, which had transported him to the States, and the remarkable woman he'd met during his studies who'd kept him there.

He hadn't even realized he was humming until Ninat rode up beside him and very quietly asked "_What is the song you are making?_"

He was too relaxed to really be startled and opened his eyes to smile over at her. "_It is an old favourite of my father's, from the land of his birth,_" he said, "_I was just remembering him._"

"_Will you sing it for me?_" Ninat asked, sidling her _pa'li_ closer so their legs almost brushed, "_I am curious to hear more tawtute songs._"

"_Sure,_" Tom shrugged, "_It's a traveling song, I guess, although it's more like a working song. It's to help give rhythm to _sailors_, people who travel in special vessels on the sea._" He closed his eyes again, humming a verse as he tried to call the words to mind, then he began.

"Melbourne girls, they have no combs

Heave away, heave away

They comb their hair with cod-fish bones

And we're bound for Australia"

"Heave away, my bully bully boys, heave away, heave away

Heave away, why don't you make a noise

And we're bound for Australia"

Cathy, riding nearby, was surprised to hear the sound of singing and let her _pa'li_ drop back a little so she could hear better. She wasn't familiar with the song at all, although it sounded to her like a sea chantey, the rhythms of those were unmistakable. She was careful not to interrupt Tom, instead watching him and, more to the point, watching Ninat as she listened to him sing.

"Melbourne boys, they have no sleds

Heave away, heave away

They slide downhill on cod-fish heads

And we're bound for Australia"

"Heave away, my bully bully boys, heave away, heave away

Heave away, why don't you make a noise

And we're bound for Australia"

"_I don't recognise some of his words at all,_" Antsu whispered to her as Tom sang the second verse.

"_I'll try to explain them when he's done,_" she smiled at her mate, "_some of them don't have a direct translation because the things he's singing about don't exist here._"

Antsu nodded and they continued to listen

"Liza Lee, she promised me

Heave away, Heave away

When I return she'll marry me

And we're bound for Australia"

"Heave away, my bully bully boys, heave away, heave away

Heave away, why don't you make a noise

And we're bound for Australia"

By the time Tom was halfway through the third verse, everyone had gathered close to listen, although Cathy was sure he had no idea, since his eyes were still closed. That was probably a good thing. Even though he'd passed his first major hurdle, Tom was still edgy about singing in front of other people. Stupid macho hangups about singing being emasculating. Cathy had been in enough choirs in her time and suffered through enough searches for tenors, baritones and bases to balance out all the women who gladly joined to be very familiar with the American cultural expectation that men did not sing unless it was "popular" songs

"Australian ships, they have no sails

heave away, heave away

They sail their ships with codfish tails

And we're bound for Australia"

"Heave away, my bully bully boys, heave away, heave away

Heave away, why don't you make a noise

And we're bound for Australia"

As he reached the final chorus, Tom's eyes shot open. Evidently three repeats was more than enough for the rest of the group to have picked it up, and they all sang along, although their accents mangled some of the words.

He was sure his face was blazing, but the smiles on everyone else's faces made him feel a little better. Especially the glowing grin Ninat was wearing.

"I've never heard that one before," Cathy smiled at him, "but then, I was always on the other side of the Transportation issue in my studies."

"It was one of my Da's favourites," Tom shrugged, "he used to sing it when he was packing for a trip, or when we went hiking."

"I like it," Ninat said, "It has beat like _pa'li_ legs a little." She patted his shoulder, and if her hand lingered a little against his arm he didn't comment. "You should sing travel songs again when your heart choose."

"Maybe I will," Tom smiled, "although for now I'll let someone else take over. One's enough for me, at least for now."

* * *

When Jake and Neytiri flew out to Site 12 for Taka's hunting lesson, the babies were just as excited as ever to see them, and it took Taka quite a bit of convincing to keep them at home with Louise. They wanted to learn about hunting too, they'd said, but Taka told them not this time, that he needed to learn properly before he could start to teach them.

They pouted a bit, but in the end, he was "daddy" so they obeyed, affectionately nuzzling everyone before piling into their den for a nap.

"_You said you have some ability with tracking,_" Neytiri said to Taka as they headed into the forest, "_so why don't you do the tracking and Jake and I will observe to see if there are any suggestions we can make to finely hone that skill._"

"_That sounds like a good plan,_" Taka nodded.

"Besides," Neytiri smiled faintly and switched to English, likely for her students' convenience, "you know the paths of the animals who live here better since this is outside my usual hunting place."

That made Taka laugh a little. "Good of you to admit that."

Jake shook his head, "Neytiri," he said, "you're supposed to keep stuff like that to yourself! Never admit a weakness!"

"Who is teacher here?" Neytiri lightly slapped the back of his head, "I can admit what I want, when I feel it right."

"Yeah, yeah," Jake rolled his eyes, "you're the teacher, I got it, geez!" There was a smile on his face, though, and Taka was surprised to realize that there was an affectionate smile in Neytiri's eyes as well... interesting.

They were mostly quiet after that as they got down to the serious business of tracking. At one point Neytiri frowned and turned to Taka. "Too much noise," she said, even though he'd thought he was being almost totally silent, "take those things off your feet, less noise and you feel the trail better through the ground."

Taka didn't particularly like the idea, but she was, after all, the teacher here, so with some reluctance he pulled off his shoes and socks, stuffing the socks inside and looping the shoes around his neck by the laces, since there was no way he was going to just leave them in the middle of the jungle and hope to come back for them later.

Even though he felt a bit like a rat running a maze with all the close scrutiny, Taka did manage to pick up a recent trail and follow it to a small herd of hexapedes. He crouched in position, taking a bead on a young male at the outside edge of the group, and breathed deep, preparing to fire. Neytiri reached out and pressed the barrel of the gun down with a firm shake of her head, her distaste for the _tawtute_ weapon more than clear.

"Jake will show the proper way," she whispered quietly enough so that their prey wasn't made aware of their presence, "with _tsko swizaw_ and proper words."

Taka nodded and put the gun away, turning his head to watch the former Marine raise his primitive weapon and fire. It was a superb shot for a man who, Taka was sure, had never fired a bow before two months ago, although to the eyes of someone who had spent part of his childhood watching kyudo his stance looked quite bizarre. But then, to his understanding kyudo stance looked quite odd compared to most other human archery traditions, so who was he to comment.

The herd scattered as the arrow hit its mark, taking down the same animal Taka had been aiming for, and the three of them hurried over to the obviously dying animal. Jake knelt and drew his knife, plunging it quickly but very accurately into the animal just below its breathing vent, putting it out of its misery, and as he did so he recited a prayer in his still-a-little-awkward Na'vi.

"_I See you, Brother, and thank you,_" he said gently. "_Your spirit goes with Eywa, your body stays behind to become part of the people._"

Taka bowed his head respectfully for a moment as Jake removed and cleaned the arrow, and then it was time for the real lesson to begin. And for Taka to get his hands dirty.

* * *

This time, when he returned to Site 12 with his catch, Taka was clean (they had stopped at a stream and washed their hands and arms when the butchering was done) and the hexapede wasn't slung over his shoulders, but roughly dressed and slung from a pole. He wouldn't be able to manage the pole thing on his own, but Neytiri had shown him how to make a drag-litter that would keep the meat clean instead, and once the children were a little bigger and could come along on hunts with him he was sure they would be able to work out some way for them to help instead.

Nothing had been wasted in their butchery; even the blood had been drained out at the roots of a plant Neytiri had said "ate" the blood of animals. The hide had been carefully removed, and since Taka didn't have the skill or need to tan it, Jake had said they would take it (and any other hides Taka ended up with from his hunting) back to the Omatikaya Hometree where it could be put to use. The innards, including the precious organ meats, had been carefully removed and wrapped in leaves, then packaged inside the hide for transport.

Their welcoming committee was no less enthusiastic for all that, though. There were nuzzles all around, and excitedly quivering quills when Taka reached into the bundles to find the package of liver he'd decided would be the children's treat for being good and waiting for them to return from the hunt.

"Jake can play with the children," Neytiri said with a smile as the three quickly downed their reward, "I also have gift from Mother for you."

"Alright," Taka nodded and waved off his companions as the two of them headed into the bunkhouse to talk alone. Taka was very curious what the _Tsahìk_ could have possibly sent for him.

* * *

The night before what was to be the final day of their journey, as they settled into their travel _nivi_ and before Tom closed his eyes to unlink, Ninat sighed faintly, and Tom was surprised by the worry he could see pass across her face.

"_Is something the matter?_" he asked, reaching out without even thinking about it to smooth the frown lines from her forehead with his thumb.

"_I have not slept well the past two nights,_" Ninat admitted, "_I have been having unsettling dreams which I do not clearly remember when I wake. Perhaps you could tell me a tale to distract my mind as I fall asleep?_"

"_Of course I can, although I don't know that I can come up with a random story on the spot,_" he said, "_What story do you want to hear?_"

"_Ka'tsi tsmuke once said that the name the tawtute gave this Eywa'eveng had a story behind it,_" Ninat suggested, "_although she never got around to telling it to me. Do you know that one, perhaps?_"

"_I do know it,_" he confirmed, "_although I probably don't know all the fine details of it. I know the basics of the story though. It comes from a place on Earth called "_Greece_" and it is very, very old._" He wrapped his arms around her in the most platonic fashion he could manage and pulled her in comfortably against him. After the first couple of mornings waking up to her cuddled up to him anyway no matter how he'd gone to sleep he'd given in and allowed himself to take a sleeping position where he was holding her. At least that way when she wormed her way into his arms in the middle of the night (probably from those disturbing dreams she'd mentioned, now that he thought about it) he didn't end up waking up with a numb hand or arm from her lying on it wrong.

"_The story goes something like this,_" he began. "_In the land of _Greece_, the god _Zeus_ wanted to punish another...um, I think he was a god, called _Promethius_ who had taken pity on humans and taught them how to use fire, so he created a woman, and called her "_Pandora_" which means "all gifts" in their language, giving her beauty, wisdom, grace and, most importantly, curiosity. They sent her to be the wife of _Promethius_ but he knew something was up, so his brother took her as __**his**__ wife instead..._"

Tom could just tell Ninat was giving him one of her confused looks, and he shook his head, chuckling to himself, "_I know, I know,_" he said, "_sky people are weird. Anyway, when he sent her down from his home on top of a very high mountain to be the wife of _Epimethius_, who was _Promethius's_ brother, _Zeus_ also gave _Pandora_ a gift. It was a big jar - big enough to hold a child - with a well-secured lid, and told her that no matter what she was not to open the jar...ever. Of course, it was a trap. You can't create a person with a curious nature and expect them to simply ignore a sealed jar that could have __**anything**__ inside, it just isn't going to happen that way._"

"_And what happened when _Pandora_ opened the jar?_" Ninat asked, not sounding sleepy in the least.

"_When she opened the lid of the jar, all the bad things on Earth came out. Hate, anger, sickness, all the evil things people do to each other. She managed to get the lid back down, but only one thing was left inside the jar by that time. Hope._"

"_Ah,_" Ninat sighed, "_So to the sky people, Eywa'eveng means...evil things?_"

"_No,_" Tom shook his head, "_It means something better and yet far, far worse. It means hope. Hope should be a good thing, and often it is, but hope can also be seductive and dangerous. Sometimes what we hope for is forever beyond our reach, and that can sour a person. More than that, though, when we hope and that hope is an illusion, it can break us. We cling to hope beyond all reason, and when that last hope is gone..._" He shook his head again, "_I'm sorry. You wanted a story to keep you from having nightmares, and instead I'm scaring you with human stupidity._"

"_No, Tom, don't be sorry,_" she reached up to stroke his cheek, "_I asked you to tell me the story, and besides, I think you're forgetting the other side of hope. Sometimes what you hope for is what you get. Perhaps Eywa'eveng will be that, at least for those who let themselves understand Eywa, like Ka'tsi tsmuke...and you._"

"_Perhaps,_" he sighed. "_One can always..._" He laughed to himself, "_I was about to say "one can always hope" but that's a bit redundant, isn't it?_"

"_Just a bit,_" Ninat smiled, "_Will you hold me until I sleep? Will you wait, tonight? Perhaps that will keep the bad dreams away._"

Tom took a deep breath, but he couldn't deny her request. "_Of course I will,_" he assured her, "_and maybe I can do something else too...I've been trying to think of things to help with sleep, and I remembered a song my mother used to sing when we were little. Why don't I sing that to you? Very quietly, as you close your eyes._"

"_That would be wonderful, thank you Tom,_" she smiled, snuggling in a little closer as he started humming a low, soothing tune.

* * *

Taka looked over his gift from Mo'at again, for probably at least the tenth time since Neytiri's visit with Jake earlier that day. He still couldn't get over the fact that he had been trusted with such items, although Neytiri had assured him that they were all very basic tools owned by many Na'vi who had, in their youth, shown promise as to possible spiritual training. To be sure, there was only one _Tsahìk_ in each clan, and usually only one or two assistants like Neytiri who were trained to take on that role as successor to the current spiritual leader, but she had explained that all who showed even the beginning levels of talent were given basic training to protect both themselves and the people around them. Untrained _tsahìk_ talent could cause problems for him later on, bringing dreams which could be confusing and disruptive, and she (and more to the point, Mo'at) would never want to see that happen to anyone. Even a very odd _uniltìranyu_ like him.

Of course, he didn't dream in this body, not really, but he did meditate, and he had to admit his meditations had been invaded by odd visions lately. If these things would help him get that under control he would be extremely happy. Especially since some of those visions had been carrying over into the few dreams he did get when he was sleeping back in his human body, and that was hardly what could be called "restful".

He mixed together a few herbs in the very specific amounts Neytiri had instructed him to use and poured boiling water over them, letting them steep until the brew was cool enough to drink. It tasted odd, but he tried to just think of it as a new variety of tea that would help him get a better sleep.

He wondered briefly to himself if this body actually dreamed while he wasn't in it, then shook his head. There was no way to know for sure, at least, not out here where they didn't have neural monitoring equipment. Time to stop thinking such esoteric thoughts and lie down so he could get some rest.

* * *

The last day of travel was really only a half-day, and even by mid-morning they could catch glimpses of what was obviously the Anurai Hometree through the forest canopy. Tom started to feel eyes on him at about the same time, but he tried not to shift uncomfortably at the scrutiny. There would, of course, be hunters and warriors keeping an eye on the approaches to the tree, and Tom was sure the predatory sense he was getting was just that, an awareness of their observers.

The first Anurai they actually saw was a young woman crouched in a stream, using a flat wooden scoop to slop bone-white clay into a tightly-woven basket lined with some kind of what Tom thought must be treated fabric or leather. The woman stood when she heard their approach and examined them carefully before speaking, although she showed no fear.

"_Omatikaya?_" she asked, "_I had forgotten it was time for your visit. Welcome back to the lands of the Anurai._"

"_Is that you, Me'lina?_" one of the Omatikaya weavers, a young woman named Mo'ria, asked with a smile, gesturing politely, "_You are looking well._"

"_So are you, Mo'ria,_" Me'lina smiled, "_I am glad to see you again. Please, all of you, come with me and I will announce your arrival to the clan. I'm sure there will be many who will be excited to see you and that which you bring._"

Tom watched, intrigued, as she picked up her basket of clay, which had to weigh at least fifty pounds, and shrugged it over one shoulder as if it weighed almost nothing at all, jogging ahead of them toward the Hometree with an effortless gait.

* * *

Jake stretched as he sat up before hauling himself up onto the branch. Another day, another round of archery practice. He was looking forward to it too, at least until Peyral caught up with him on his way down to breakfast. He liked Peyral, he really did, but her flirting was getting more and more distracting, and quite frankly, it was starting to throw off his game. He needed to say something to her about it, but honestly, what _could_ he say? "Hey Peyral, you're a great girl, but the only one I want is Neytiri, sorry"? Yeah that would go over like a ton of fucking bricks. And Jake did, too, which was more than half the problem. He knew Tommy would kill him if he found out, but Jake was coming to the decision - spurred on, actually, by Peyral's overt interest - that if he did end up taking a mate among the Omatikaya (which was making more and more sense to him - if there was a way to stay he wanted to, he didn't want this to just end with a short tour on Pandora anymore) it was going to be Neytiri or nobody.

Of course, the fact that she was already spoken for kindof nixed that idea right there, but...well, Jake wondered if, when the time came, whether she would say "no" to him if he asked. But that wasn't really fair to her. She was devoted to her people, and he couldn't imagine her doing something that would be so against the rules of the clan. _Olo'eyktan_ and _Tsahìk_ were a mated pair, and there was no way he wanted to disrupt the local form of governing rulership just because he was falling for an amazing, pretty girl who happened to be destined for one of those top spots.

They were already in the eating hall before Jake remembered Peyral was talking to him. He shook his head and looked over at her. "Sorry," he said, "got a lot on my mind this morning."

"_Of course,_" she smiled at him, rubbing his shoulder until he sidestepped (ostensibly to avoid stepping on a tail) just out of her reach, "_I will see you later. Remember we are to fly formation this afternoon._"

"_I remember,_" Jake nodded, breathing a sigh of relief as she headed off, apparently having already eaten, herself.

* * *

"What do you think?" Taka asked, leaning over to see what Louise was working on.

"I've definitely got some definitive results here," she said, "see? If you look at the growth rate on this sample as compared to the one on the left, it clearly shows..."

Her response was cut off as Taka put a finger over her lips, laughing and shaking her head. "No, no," he told her, "you're supposed to say "about what?" when I ask you that. Let's try this again: What do you think, Louise?" he smiled at her, tilting his head quizzically.

"About what?" she asked, as he had told her to.

"About taking the children out on a group outing to our Tree of Voices this evening," Taka suggested. "We could both use the break from our routine, and I think it would be good for the children to learn about how we commune with Eywa."

Louise blinked in surprise. "You know," she said, "that's actually not a bad idea at all. Let me just finish up with this last round of samples I need to prepare for testing and then we'll go."

"I'll gather a bit of food for a picnic dinner," Taka leaned over to kiss her forehead, "and I'll meet you out there in half an hour at the latest." He hummed happily to himself as he started his link bed, winking at her just before he closed himself in.

* * *

Taka grinned at the cubs' antics. They had approached the situation with all proper decorum at first, and been suitably respectful of the tree when they linked to its boughs, but they were, after all, still very young, and they could only stay serious for so long without needing to play, sleep, eat or do other necessary childhood things. Which was how they had ended up chasing each other through a nearby grove of helicordion plants. He caught Louise grinning at them too, and winked at her. Linking to the tree as a family had been a wonderfully fulfilling thing, but the part he loved most was the fact that he could sense echoes of Louise's emotions when they were linked up together.

"They're so precious," Louise whispered as they watched the cubs. "Which is not something I ever thought I'd say about deadly predators, young or not."

Taka laughed and shook his head. "We're hard-wired to find baby animals adorable," he pointed out, "Probably the only thing that kept us going as a species sometimes."

"You hush, mister zoologist," she stuck her tongue out at him, "spoiling all the romance of our blended family."

Taka couldn't help himself from leering at her, even given their "sacred" setting. "You keep sticking that tongue out at me an I'll give you something better to do with it," he warned.

She blinked innocently at him. "Are you trying to scare me off with threats?"

"That wasn't a threat," he shook his head, "it was a promise. You ought to know the difference by now."

She smiled at that, completely relaxed now, in a way he had never seen her before they moved out to Site 12 together.

Having triggered all the plants to hide, the cubs gamboled back over and Ama linked to Taka

«_Momma and Daddy happy should stay,_» she said, «_Ama and Tsuki and Sano will go sleep at den._»

"Alright, Ama-chan," Taka stroked her head.

«_Daddy and Momma nuzzle as much as want,_» she added, «_Ama will ask Uncle Carlos if has needs anything._»

Taka had to smile at that. She might be a baby but Ama was pretty perceptive for her maturity level. "Go straight home, then, and don't cause Uncle Carlos too much trouble," he laughed as the babies darted away.

"What was that all about?" Louise asked after they'd watched the babies bound away into the trees in the direction of Site 12 and their den.

"Apparently Ama-chan thinks we need some alone time," Taka said, pulling her in against his side, "so we can "nuzzle" as much as we want."

Louise laughed at that and turned her face to nuzzle against his neck. "Like so?"

He nuzzled into her hair, breathing in her scent. "Kitty girl of ours has good ideas," he agreed, "you'll let me know if I start to go too far, right?" They still hadn't done all that much experimentation in avatar form after that first, drunken evening, and he didn't want to ruin things by triggering her crying reflex again.

"I will," she nodded, smiling as his nuzzles became light kisses moving down over her forehead, her eyes, along the bridge of her nose and toward her lips, although he teasingly kept just sky of actually kissing her properly. "Taka..." she whimpered as he started to move back up toward her forehead again, "now you're just being..."

Her complaint was interrupted as he finally brought his mouth down over hers, kissing her sweetly and carefully. "You were saying something?" he asked when he finally came up for air.

"Nothing important," she shook her head running her fingers over his cheek to slide around the back of his neck and pull him in closer.

"If you're sure it wasn't anything I need to know..." he grinned at her, then pushed her top up to expose her chest to his gaze and, more importantly, his hands and lips.

"Definitely," she moaned, loosening her grip just long enough to take the top off completely and throw it somewhere.

She had managed to get rid of his shirt as well and loosen his pants before she felt the first stirrings of that deep, unforgiving loneliness she had known was coming. This time it was a little different, though. This time she knew what she wanted to do about it. She stroked the fingers of one hand over his face, interrupting his attentions and getting him to look at her, and with the other hand she reached for her queue. "It's time," she said softly

"Time to stop?" he asked, then he saw what she was holding in her left hand, "Ah," he said softly, looking directly into her eyes. "Is this truly what you want, Louise, or is this a test?" he asked carefully.

"Well if it isn't what you wanted..." she looked away, starting to lower her hand.

"Did I say that?" he caught her hand with his, stopping her, "I just want to be sure this is what _you_ want, and not simply a test to see if you can get me to run." He stroked his thumb over her fingers gently, "Because you can't, you know. I'm just going to keep making you believe that until you just _know_."

She looked back up at him, and she was smiling. "I know," she said, "and...well, maybe it was a test, kindof, but it's also what I want. It just...it feels _right_, Taka. It feels like it's time."

"Well then, who am I to argue," he said gently, leaning his forehead in against hers and letting go of her hand to reach over his shoulder for his own queue. He almost couldn't believe this was happening, but she was right, it _did_ feel like it was time, and as the neural tendrils of their queues blended together he knew he wasn't wrong.

It was a completeness like he'd never known before, flashes of happy memories not his own flowing through his consciousness in the blink of an eye before he became acutely aware of the fact that he wasn't just in his own body anymore. He shared her skin, and, he was sure, she shared his now as well. There was a sense of urgency behind her arousal, and yet, also a need to make this take as long as they possibly could, and he intended to fulfil both those needs tonight in this sacred place.

Louise moaned as she felt the link complete. Yes, this was what had been missing, not just when she felt pleasure in her avatar body, but for all her life. This real, tangible connection to one she loved and whom she knew loved her as well. It was truly everything she had needed and more. She knew he would never leave her, knew it as well as she knew that even when sleeping she continued to breathe, it was just...a given, and as vital to her now as the air she took in with each of those breaths, she wasn't afraid to admit.

After the initial pause to marvel at the beauty of their bond, Louise felt her arousal return tenfold at least, and she brought her lips to his with abandon as her hands got busy dealing with the rest of his clothes. She hadn't even noticed he wasn't wearing shoes until she went to remove them, but then she shrugged. One less thing to worry about.

And then both of them were naked, and everywhere their bodies touched seemed to send a frission of pleasurable shocks along her nerves. She sensed Taka consider that he ought to draw out the encounter, but she shook her head and mentally reassured him. There would be opportunities to take their time later, right now her body had an imperative, and that was that there was one last step to complete their bond, and it could not wait.

He laid her down onto the soft moss under the tree and began to sink into her, their pulses pounding in unison. The sensation was...a little different from what she had expected, but then, it occurred to her (what an odd thought) that in this body at least, technically she was (had been?) a virgin.

Taka paused, apparently having caught that stray thought and broadcasting concern for her, but she shook her head with a smile and pulled his head down for a kiss with one hand, while the other wrapped around the base of his tail and squeezed. And that was all it took. With a growl he pressed forward again, seating himself fully within her and kissing her back hard.

* * *

They fell asleep there together, wrapped inside each other beneath their tree of voices, and for the first time instead of unlinking the moment they slipped into unconsciousness, they dreamed.

* * *

***sniffles* so beautiful! Although I'm sure it wasn't the pairing everyone wants most, but don't worry, that one's coming (not) soon enough!**

**The song Tom is singing is a real song. It's called "Codfish Shanty" if anyone is curious to look it up, I thought it was the kind of song that might stick in a guy's head, and Tom's dad reminds me a lot of my own, who loves to sing old folk songs from the British Isles and early America... Anyway, it's a cute song, and I like it, so there!  
**

**Now onward and downward to...**

**Vocab:**

**Na'vi:**

_**talioang**_** - "Sturmbeest", vaguely equivalent to buffalo or wildebeest, they travel in big herds and take incredible skill to hunt (as any of you who've seen the extended edition already know)  
**

_**uniltìranyu**_** - dreamwalker, avatar  
**

_**skxawng**_** - Moron, of course  
**

_**taronyu**_** - hunter  
**

_**pa'li**_** - direhorse  
**

_**tawtute**_** - sky person, human  
**

_**tsko swizaw**_** - bow and arrow (_tsko_ is "bow", _swizaw_ is "arrow")  
**

_**Tsahìk**_** - spiritial leader  
**

_**tsmuke**_** - sister  
**

_**Eywa'eveng**_** - this is the Na'vi's own name for Pandora. Literally it means "Eywa's child"  
**

**Japanese:**

_**kyudo**_** - the Japanese style of archery. It's very different from western archery, but like any Japanese martial art, finely tuned and an incredible feat to watch!  
**

**And because I thought you might like it, the entire hunt-prayer _niNa'vi_:**

**_Oel ngatì kameie, ma tsmukan, ulte ngaru seiyi ireiyo. Ngari hu Eywa saleyu tìreya, tokx 'i'awn slu Na'viyä hapxì_**


	25. Chapter 24: Friends and Relationships

**Yay a new chapter! Although not as fast as last time, but then, my mother has arrived home from her summer vacation and with her comes her obsessive need to do "Projects"**

**Hope you all enjoy this! Fans of Tom should be especially tickled by certain events, even if he's...not so comfortable with some of them XD**

**Now on with the fun!  
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Brotherhood Chapter 24: Friends and Relationships

On his way back from his scouting trip, Tsu'tey made one extra stop. He had the time, after all, and his...talk...with Sylwanin had reminded him that it had been far too long since he had done this, as well.

He knew the hunting patterns of all the local wildlife, so it wasn't difficult to determine the area which the local _nantang_ pack was currently centered around. He didn't want to get _too_ close to their den, but just close enough to attract their attention. He found a likely spot and sat, cross-legged on the ground and waited.

It didn't take long for the first, hesitant, _nantang_ to appear and disappear just as quickly. That one was obviously just a scout. The next one to appear, however, was the one he'd been waiting for...the leader.

Tsu'tey watched him walk calmly into the clearing, taking in the familiar scar along the animal's side and the slightly damaged left _tswin_, carried a handspan lower than the right always was. A slow smile spread across his face. "_I See you, tsmukan,_" he said calmly.

The beast chuckled affectionately as he flowed over the ground toward Tsu'tey, only to sit down on his haunches right in front of him, mouth gaping loosely and tongue lolling out. Tsu'tey reached back for his _tswin_ and let it join to the politely extended right _tswin_ of the _nantang_.

«_Large brother gone much, small brother glad see again,_» the _nantang_ had both happiness and a hint of what might be called exasperation in its mental voice.

"_I have been busy,_" Tsu'tey admitted, "_many things have happened since we last spoke._"

«_Small brother busy also,_» he admitted, «_mate has four small, hungry pups this season._»

"_That is important,_" Tsu'tey agreed. He smiled as he remembered how he had come to have such an unusual "brother" as this _nantang_ pack leader. "_None so foolhardy as you were, I hope._"

«_Small brother always most brave,_» he barked with amusement, «_no other yet as brave._»

Tsu'tey had been eight years old when they met, and Natsmukan (Sylwanin had always complained the name was too boring, but it was serviceable, and he was to be a warrior, not a singer, after all) had been a half-grown pup either abandoned by his pack or lost and given up for dead. He was big enough to have learned the basics of hunting, but on his own there wasn't much he could catch, so he had become weak and easy prey. When Tsu'tey came across him, he had been very close to death, having been attacked by a hungry _ikranay_. Tsu'tey had run in wielding his small practice bow and beat the _ikranay_ off, earning himself a nick in his right ear from one of its foreclaws for his trouble, but it had then decided this prey was too much of a fuss to be worth it and taken off.

Tsu'tey had snuck food to the injured pup, and dragged his _best friend in the whole world_ Sylwanin out to help patch him up, since she had some training in herbs and healing stuff, even if she _was_ learning to hunt like him too. At that young age it had confused Tsu'tey how someone could be studying two paths at once, but when he asked, his father had simply laughed and explained that women's minds worked differently than men's. Sylwanin was the only person other than him who had ever known about Natsmukan, though. He didn't tell the other boys, because they would think it strange, and it was...nice to have something that was shared just between the two of them.

«_Large brother still no mate?_» Natsmukan interrupted his thoughts.

"_No,_" he shook his head, "_she still says she is not ready._"

«_Large brother should find mate wants large brother,_» the _nantang_ snorted, «_should make pups to play with small brother pups. One season no mate is enough alone time. Mating time comes, find new mate._»

Tsu'tey sighed and shook his head. The smaller brothers and sisters, the animals, had it so much easier in some ways. They had no laws saying the leader must mate this one or that one, he simply chose a strong female and that was that. "_Perhaps soon I will do that, ma Natsmukan,_" he stroked the smooth head. "_Tell me of the hunting in this area._"

With another snort for good measure, Natsmukan acquiesced and began to rattle off all the recent activity in his hunting range.

* * *

When they reached the entrance to the Anurai clan's Hometree, their guide left them and ran on ahead to gather a proper greeting committee, and Tom suddenly realized something that hadn't even occurred to him.

"Is it going to be a problem that we're dreamwalkers?" he asked Ninat, sticking to English in an effort to keep their conversation just to their group.

"There may be worry, but that is why you here," she shook her head, "other clans need to learn more of dreamwalkers, especially good ones like Ka'tsi _tsmuke_ and you."

Even with her reassurances, though, Tom was more nervous than he'd ever been (even at the prospect of singing in front of the whole clan) when their group was brought before the _olo'eyktan_ and _tsahìk_ of the Anurai clan.

"_We are glad to see our brothers and sisters of the Omatikaya again, as always,_" the _tsahìk_ said as she looked them over, "_but what are these strange creatures you have brought with you? They look almost like Na'vi, but they are not, are they?_"

"_These must be ayuniltìranyu,_" the _olo'eyktan_ frowned, "_but I had thought that the Omatikaya had banned those strange ones from their clan some years ago._"

"_They were banned, for a time,_" Ninat admitted, "_but now some few have been allowed back to study with us and learn our ways, in order that they might bring better relations between their people and ours. We have learned that they are not one clan but many, although not all their clans are of equal strength. These two you see before you are of the aysoktor clan, whose only wish is to better understand both Eywa'eveng and the Na'vi. It is their aysamsiyu clan who cause us and also them all their troubles._"

"_Ah,_" he nodded, "_this sounds like something we need to know more about. We will allow you to stay in order that we may learn from you, but you will be watched carefully._"

"_Of course,_" Ninat nodded, "_completely understandable. We thank you for being willing to listen and observe before judging._"

The _tsahìk_ chuckled at that. "_One does not lead long without having the wisdom to take time to think things over,_" she smiled, "_Now, I suspect you are all hungry and tired from your travels, you should go to our singers and let them get you settled in._"

"_As you say,_" Ninat smiled, gently taking Tom by the arm and turning them away toward the area which she knew from a past visit some years ago was the singers' alcove.

Once they were out of earshot, Tom breathed a sigh of relief. "That went better than I'd hoped."

"Of course they will like you," Ninat smiled, "if I like you why would not they?"

"No reason not to," he laughed, "and hey, your English is getting better."

"You are a good teacher," she shrugged, "and I am a good student?" she asked sweetly, blinking at him in feigned innocence.

"Yes," he shook his head in helpless amusement, "yes, it would appear you're a better student than you let on, even."

"I am a singer," she smiled, "I watch, I listen, always. It is our way. Or did you forget, Tom Sully?"

"I didn't forget," he smiled back at her, "but it's good to remember."

"_It is good to see you again, Tana'za, Zolan,_" Ninat turned toward a pair of Na'vi Tom hadn't noticed approaching them, "_allow me to introduce my father's most recent student, Tom, who is here upon his journey to become a full member of the Omatikaya's singers._"

"_I See you both,_" Tom gestured politely, "_it is a pleasure to meet you._"

"_And a pleasure to meet you, as well,_" Tana'za nodded, "_I hope your stay with us will be as good a learning experience for you as I am sure it will be for us._"

"_Your brother and his mate are already settling in,_" Zolan smiled at Ninat, "_come with me, both of you; I'm sure you're hungry._"

Ninat nodded, and the two of them followed their host into the warren of the Anurai Hometree.

* * *

Carlos was fairly concerned when Taka and Louise hadn't returned to the avatar bunkhouse by the time night had set in, even though the littles were already back, but when Cathy unlinked she just shook her head at his worry.

"They'll be back when they're ready," she said, "frankly I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner. Now I need some sleep," she yawned, "if they come out of link in the next ten minutes wake me, otherwise I'll wait til morning for my congratulations to them."

"Congratulations?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Well, they went to their tree, you said, right?" she pointed out, "and they haven't come back yet and it's after dark, but their physiological readings are all fine?"

"Yeah," Carlos nodded, "but I don't see where you made the jump that there's something to congratulate them for."

"For formalizing their relationship," Cathy rolled her eyes, "that's how it works, Carlos, you go to a place of Eywa, join queues, and...well, join other body parts, but you already know about that part I'm sure."

"Oh," he flushed, "I hadn't realized."

"That they were ready for that step? I wasn't sure either, but I'll bet you anything that's what's going on here. Now," she yawned, "I really need to get some sleep before I pass out completely."

"I think I'll do the same," Carlos nodded, "I don't think they're going to particularly want an audience when they wake up."

"Probably not," Cathy agreed with a laugh.

* * *

The next morning, Cathy woke at her usual hour before dawn, but instead of linking up right away, she slipped on her exopack and headed outside. She knew she didn't have the resources to make all the proper things, but she could at least make them a fruit salad and some other little treats. She'd just have to do with what was available to her.

She worked out of sight of the link pod's windows so that they wouldn't see her when they woke to link up, and when she finally saw them heading in across the field she smiled and waved them over.

"How come you aren't linked up yet?" Louise asked as she sat down next to Cathy at the avatar-sized table in the bunkhouse.

"Well, somebody had to be here to wish you a proper congratulations on taking such a bold new step in life," Cathy grinned, "_Did you dream well?_" she asked the traditional question put to a newly mated pair.

"How did you know we..." Louise blinked, "I guess you must've recognized the signs or something, right?"

"Something like that," Cathy nodded, "so?"

"So...what?" Louise gave her a slightly bleary look.

"How were your dreams?"

"Our dreams were good," Taka smiled, sitting down next to Louise, his tail going around her waist almost automatically.

"Ah," Cathy smiled, "_then it can be said that Eywa has blessed your mating. Do not fear to offend me by eating your fill; I have already eaten, as is proper._"

"Thank you," Taka nodded, serving up portions for himself and Louise, "I take it this is a little more formal than a casual breakfast?"

"It's traditional for the family of a newly mated couple to hold a celebratory breakfast once they wake," Cathy nodded, "although I'm probably missing a whole bunch of the proper foods. We'll call it the tiny family version instead, and one of these days we'll get you to _Kelutral_ and do this properly."

"Thanks," Louise looked at her seriously, "I...didn't expect this to happen but now that it has, I'm really glad it did, and having at least a little of what would be the proper festivities feels right."

"Of course it does," Cathy patted her hand, "now I'll leave you two to it, since I really do need to get into link, but one last piece of advice before I go...generally the Na'vi take eight days or so to themselves after their _timuntxa_, in order to give them time to settle into their new closeness. I definitely recommend you think about doing something similar. You might find the bond a little...distracting until you get used to it."

That made Louise laugh. "I'll definitely take the suggestion under advisement," she agreed, "now go on back to that fellow of yours, and tell him "hi" from the pair of us."

"I will," Cathy waved as she headed back into the link pod...to her "real" life.

* * *

The day of the _talioang _hunt had arrived, and the buzz of anticipation hummed through the Omatikaya _Kelutral_ like a fever. Every hunter, from the newest like Jake who had only attained their status a couple of weeks ago to the most senior, was performing final checks on their equipment in the predawn light, healers were checking their stocks and preparing a few basic supplies that would no doubt be needed before the day was out, and craftspeople of all persuasions were readying themselves for the bounty to come.

"Tom's gonna be sad he missed all this," Jake grinned as he watched the people scurrying far below from his spot up in the _ikran_ branches.

"Then you must tell him when he returns," Neytiri smiled at him as she fussed with Seze's saddle, "_talioang_ hunt is a special time for Omatikaya people. You will see."

"Grace told me a little," he nodded as he fed slips of meat to Luke. Not too much, but enough to provide energy for the swift flying that would be required of him today. Jake, too, had eaten in the same way before coming up here. Nothing too heavy, but lots of complex carbs and protein to give him energy for the hunt.

"Telling is not seeing," Neytiri laughed lightly, "and seeing is not doing. When today is done, you will know the difference."

* * *

As their flight wing of _ikran_ approached the herd, Jake knew exactly what Neytiri had meant this morning. It wasn't just the flying, or even the flying with a whole bunch of others, it was smells and a sound like thunder as the herd began to move, and the taste of dust and mud kicked up by their hooves as their inexorable stampede stirred up the already well-worn path they traveled. It stirred the blood in an incredibly primal manner and set his heart to pounding as his focus narrowed.

If he'd had the time or inclination to think about it, he would have been reminded of the stories of the American bison hunts of the early colonial period, but right know all Jake was aware of was the pounding hooves ahead of him, and the 'horse riders below driving the herd into a frenzy.

As planned, their wide vee narrowed down as they came atop the herd, splitting into pairs, and then into single file, creating a shooting line which put each hunter into an ideal position to try to take down one of the massive beasts. Jake, along with the other two newest hunters, was near the end of the line, and he was glad, because that gave him a chance to observe the more experienced hunters in action. Shooting at a target on a tree or shooting a _yerik_ on the ground was one thing, but these sturmbeests - _talioang_ - were a lot more heavily armoured than a little old _yerik_! That left only one spot on them vulnerable, and it was about the size of a grapefruit...or it looked that size from up here, anyway.

The first hunter in line took up his position, and his shot looked good - at least, to Jake - but clearly it wasn't. The arrow struck the shoulder just above the vent and shattered on contact. The next hunter's shot had a similar fate, but then came Tsu'tey. Even from this distance, Jake recognized the confidence and focus the future _olo'eyktan_ radiated, and it wasn't false confidence either. His arrow flew as straight as his _ikran_ and reached its target as if it was nothing, taking down a large bull in a whirl of tumbling mountainous body and flailing legs.

More hunters took their shots, some hitting, most not, and almost sooner than he'd expected, it was Jake's turn. His focus narrowed even further, the only thing he was aware of besides his target being the fact that he knew Neytiri was watching. He could feel her eyes on him from behind, and although the number of missed shots had made it obvious that he would be forgiven for not taking down a _talioang_ with his first shot, he wasn't going to go that easy on himself. Yeah maybe he wanted to show off a little, so what? He'd been practicing his ass off, he was allowed a little showing off if he thought he could pull it off.

With a mental command to Luke to fly as straight as he possibly could along the path of the herd, Jake raised himself up in the saddle and drew his bow, focusing on a bull running near the outside edge of the herd. Its vent stood out in sharp relief to Jake's sniper-trained eye, even without the aid of a scope, and he sighted down the arrow and let out his breath finally in the same motion with which he released, seeing the animal fall out of the corner of his eye as he began to pull up to make room for the next hunter.

He let out an excited whoop and a heartfelt "Hell yeah!" and when he heard the phrase echoed by Neytiri behind him, he had to grin. Yeah he totally nailed that one! Way to make an impression, Jakey-boy!

Stress and focus releasing somewhat, Jake watched the chaos and amazing coordination of the scene below him as riders, both on _ikran_ and _pa'li_ took their own shots and mortally wounded _talioang_ tumbled end over end, the momentum of their stampede carrying them far from where they were shot. He could easily see why Neytiri had told him only experienced hunters were in the _pa'li_-riding group...being on the ground in that kind of craziness was really fucking dangerous. He saw more than one go down from the littlest of missed changes of terrain, one whose horse rolled over him completely and had to be quickly dragged to safety by one of the other riders, although his 'horse made it back to its feet without incident.

And then they were lining up for their second and final run at the herd before it was out of the range allowed for the hunt, and Jake's focus shuttered down again, waiting for his turn, determined that this arrow would spend itself perfectly as well.

* * *

Tom had, in his time so far among the Anurai, taken to spending his mornings sitting and observing a different group of craftspeople each day. It was helping him to get a real handle on the similarities and differences between the Omatikaya and the Anurai, and was also giving him a wealth of knowledge about Na'vi crafts in general. After his morning observations, he usually headed back to the Singers' area to join them for lunch, but today he'd been completely engrossed in watching the potters prepare glazes, and he was later than usual.

He saw Ninat talking to one of their hosts, and was about to wave to catch her attention when he realized they weren't just talking, they were arguing about something. He frowned. He hoped it wasn't anything to do with him or Cathy. Perhaps he'd better move in a little closer to see if he could at least hear what the argument was about before he bumbled into something he would only escalate with his presence.

"_You have had my answer already, Zolan,_" Ninat was shaking her head, "_when you asked me to return with you after your visit to our home last season. The answer has not changed since that time. I have responsibilities to my clan, I cannot simply uproot myself and leave. Who then would take over our singers when Sempul steps down?_"

"_Your clan has many strong singers,_" Zolan placed a hand on her arm, "_let one of them take your place! You shouldn't let such small things stand against what could be good between us._"

Tom could see the discomfort on her face and when she tried to move her arm out of his grasp and he only tightened it, that was more than enough. Without even thinking about it he strode directly over to where they were standing, a deep scowl on his face.

"_I believe the lady expressed herself quite clearly,_" he growled, gripping Zolan's wrist at just the right point to make his fingers release, then stepping between them.

"_And what business is it of yours, ketuwong?_" Zolan growled in return, "_you have no standing here, you are still a child and cannot make any claim._"

"_I am her friend, and if I make it my business then it is,_" Tom glared, "_and if you knew even the first thing about Ninat you would know how strong her dedication is; to her family __**and**__ to her people. For you to ask her to casually give all that up just for you is not only impolite, it's idiotic._" He shook his head, "_If you truly Saw her, you would know that. Besides, for any good, balanced relationship, both partners have to be willing to sacrifice, and I see none of that in your position._" He let the other man's wrist go, finally, and turned to Ninat. "_Come,_" he smiled, "_let's get some lunch, before my appetite is completely spoiled._"

He held out his arm to Ninat and she smiled at him and nodded, although she didn't place her arm in his like he'd expected. Then he remembered that of course she wouldn't know this human gesture, so he gently took her hand and placed it into the proper place.

"_Yes, you are right, Tom,_" she said for the benefit of their audience, "_it is time for the midday meal, almost past time, and I find myself suddenly quite hungry._"

Zolan glared after the pair as they moved away, and started after them, but before he'd gotten two steps he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"_No, ma 'itan,_" Tana'za shook her head, "_it would be best if you let them be. You need to calm yourself and think on what was said. I wish you had spoken to me of your thoughts on this. We do not want to risk our good relations with the Omatikaya because of the foolishness of one young man's unrequited desire._"

"_Foolish?_" he protested, "_Ma Sa'nok, it is not foolish! A match between us would be of great benefit!_"

"_To you, perhaps,_" Tana'za shook her head, "_but not to her. The uniltìranyu boy was right, ma 'itan, you do not See her, and until you do, you cannot win her heart._"

* * *

Antsu slipped back into the shadows of the singers' alcove, a thoughtful smile on his face. He had been watching the confrontation between his sister and Zolan with every intention of interrupting if things got out of hand, and more than ready to play the protective older brother, but as it turned out, it hadn't been necessary. Frankly, he had been impressed with the depth of Tom's logic. He still intended to have a private conversation with Tom once the setting was right, but the tone of that conversation could, he now realized, be much more friendly than he had initially feared.

Clearly, Tom knew how to step up when the situation demanded it, and Antsu hadn't been blind to the look in his eyes when he performed that odd, probably _tawtute_ gesture as he led Ninat away...even if Tom himself likely hadn't realized he was wearing it.

* * *

"_You didn't need to do that,_" Ninat smiled at Tom as the pair sat down for lunch, "_but thank you. It is not always easy when trying to explain things to one who does not See your situation, and I admit I should have anticipated that conversation and been better prepared for it._"

"_I was only doing what any good friend would do,_" he insisted, focusing all his attention on his food in hopes that she wouldn't see the lie in his eyes. It might be what a friend would do, but the feelings that had been stirred inside him when he saw another man behaving so possessively toward her were anything but friendly.

"_Are you sure that is all it was?_" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder which caused him to look at her almost in reflex, "_because to me it seemed there might be more there than only friendship to bring you to my defence._"

"_That's all it can be,_" he corrected, "_I cannot allow it to be more, even if..._"

She placed a finger over his lips and shook her head, "_This is a conversation better kept for a more private place...but I will not forget,_" she smiled, "_even if you try to pretend you did not almost say what I know you almost said._"

He shook his head, trying to let her see the regret in his eyes. "_That's all it can be,_" he repeated, "_but if he bothers you again I will be there to step between you until he shows you the proper respect and consideration you are due._"

* * *

The _talioang_ hunt had been a great success this year, not that Jake knew it as any different from any other year, but when the hunt was over and the butchering was done (a task far more exhausting than the hunting. Sturmbeest were fucking gigantic, even compared to the Na'vi) it was definitely time to party!

Well, time to get clean first, _then_ time to party. Feeling distinctly sticky, with blood and dust and clay from the dry riverbed the _talioang_ had been running down all thoroughly coating his arms up to the shoulders, Jake was more than ready for a swim as he followed the rest of the similarly-stained hunters to a backeddy pool. Even as bone-tired as all of them were, it didn't take long for the functional bathing to turn into daredevil diving off the small waterfall that emptied into the pool. Hunters were doing backflips, dives and rolls and then Jake, grinning, did a swan dive. Well, he attempted a swan dive anyway. He'd never actually done one, but they looked easy enough. Frankly, it was a good thing none of the Na'vi hunters knew what a swan dive was supposed to look like, because he completely bollixed the entry, but whatever, it looked good in the air, and pretty soon he had at least three or four copycats trying to do swan dives themselves.

When he finally hauled his now-clean body up onto the rocks to sit and dry off, he was quickly joined by other hunters, including (slightly awkwardly) both Neytiri and Peyral.

"Your aim was very strong today, Jake," Neytiri praised him, "to take down two _talioang_ on your first hunt."

"Yeah, well, you're a good teacher," he grinned at her.

"And I am good practice?" Peyral gave him a look that he was pretty damn sure wasn't as innocent as she was trying to make it.

"Yeah, you were helpful too," Jake smiled at her, "thanks. Hey, did I ever tell you about who you remind me of?"

"I remind you of?" she looked confused. He wasn't sure if it was the tangent or the English that had her puzzled, though, so he just pressed on.

"Yeah. Back when I was in the Marines, there was this girl in my unit...um, a unit's kinda like a hunting group I guess, anyway, we went through basic together and somehow we just kept getting put together, probably cause we worked great as a team. She was a kickass little fighter, and we always watched each other's backs. She was like the sister I never had," Jake smiled, "and bugged me just as much as a real sister too, sometimes." he shook his head, "she got hurt the same time I did, got a medal along with her discharge... Yeah, you definitely remind me of little Meilin," he laughed.

"What was Marines like?"

Jake turned to see who was speaking and realized it was 'Ontu, the young hunter who had gotten his _ikran_ at the same time.

"What was it like being in the Marines?" Jake pondered the question. "It's...kinda hard to explain, but I'll try. See, being a Marine is kinda similar in some ways to being a Na'vi hunter, but at the same time, there's some major differences. For one thing, there's a whole heckofalot less girls in the Marines," he laughed. "Well, and a lot more guns...but yeah, it was good there..."

With a smile, Jake settled in to storytelling mode, hauling out all the craziest "Marine" stories he could think of. It was weird, but good. He realized that even though there were still guys from his unit he missed, he no longer missed the Corps itself with quite the same ache as before.

* * *

Sitting nearby, Tsu'tey watched the hunters surrounding Jake out of the corner of his eye. He was telling of the ways of the _tawtute_ warrior clan he had once been a part of, and Tsu'tey wondered if perhaps that knowledge might be put to some use among the warriors of the Omatikaya. As with hunting, in war, after all, it is good to truly _know_ your prey. He leaned back with a casual motion, paying closer attention without letting on he was doing anything but basking in the warmth of the sun to dry off before they headed back to _Kelutral_ in victorious formation to enjoy the spoils of their hunt.

"If Marines was so good, why you left and came _Eywa'eveng_?" he heard one of the young hunters ask Jake, and his ear twitched a little. That was a very, very good question indeed...and one that he should have thought to ask months ago.

"I didn't have a choice, really," Jake shook his head, "at least, not about leaving the Marines. I was hurt in battle, in such a way that I was no longer able to fight."

"But you not scarred or limp," the hunter pointed out.

"Not in this body," Jake sighed, and even watching surreptitiously out of the corner of his eye, Tsu'tey could see the pain flash across his face, "but we dreamwalkers have two bodies, and my other one...well, it's prettymuch useless for anything but sitting around or linking up so that I can be here with all of you."

Interesting. Perhaps he really ought to get to know Jake a little better, Tsu'tey realized. His knowledge of _tawtute_ tactics could be useful, and if he had truly been removed from his clan because they thought him useless, perhaps he indeed had no love for them...

The fact that he was also beginning to realize that, had the situation been slightly different, they might have ended up as friends didn't even enter into the equation. Mostly because Tsu'tey refused to even let that thought surface any higher than his subconscious.

* * *

Louise sighed as she leaned over her microscope, trying to concentrate on the specimen she was supposed to be examining. Cathy had been _so _right about the level of distraction Na'vi-style mating caused... Not that Louise had doubted her, really, but she'd thought she would be able to work through this, at least when she was in her "proper" body. It made no difference though. Even while she was sitting here poring over what should have been fascinating plant samples, all she could think of was Taka, or more specifically, the ever-deepening bond between them that only seemed to get more incredible the more times they made _tsaheylu_. She had thought the "omgwow" sense would lessen at least a little with familiarity, but if that was ever going to happen, she had come to realize it wouldn't be anytime soon.

At least she wasn't the only one who was distracted. Taka could barely keep his hands off her in either form, although sex as humans was...well, it was still _fun_ of course, but it absolutely paled in comparison. They'd only tried it once or twice since mating, and then by mutual agreement they had stopped, at least for now. They didn't want to totally ruin the experience by knowing how much more intense it could be between their avatars.

With a growl of frustration she turned off the lamp over her microscope and shut the equipment down. Taka was out hunting and it was almost time for him to be back...maybe she should give up on working since she obviously wasn't making any headway and prepare a little surprise for her mate instead.

* * *

The moment he entered the avatars' bunkhouse to stow his latest catch, Taka groaned. He had managed to concentrate long enough to go hunting, although he'd caught a pair of tapirus rather than attempting a hexapede - he knew he wouldn't be able to stay quiet enough right now not to tip them off, but now that he was back, he could smell Louise's scent, and it was driving him almost literally up the wall with need.

It had to be something to do with the bonding between mates, he figured. Although Cathy hadn't mentioned anything about a sudden overawareness of the other's scent. But then, maybe it was just a guy thing. He wished there was someone he could ask about it, but there was no reason any of the other avatars would know anything about the intricacies of the mating bond, and he didn't really figure he was on quite close enough terms with any mated Na'vi to be asking such a delicate question. There was always the possibility of asking Cathy to ask her mate about it, but... He shook his head. That was hardly a real solution.

He managed to at least stow the meat away before the siren song of her scent drew him to track her to the spot she'd found to hide in. Damnit she _knew_ hunting her down only made him hornier! He growled as he caught her when she tried to run, and nuzzled his nose deep into her hair, drawing in the perfume of her scent with a groan. He knew what she needed, even without having to make the bond, and he was more than happy to give it to her any way she wanted and as many times as she needed...as many times as it took to sate them both.

* * *

It was a couple of days since the confrontation between Ninat, Tom and Zolan, and Ninat hadn't said anything more to him on the subject, so Tom had begun to think he had escaped that awkward conversation she had promised. He still couldn't believe what he'd almost said, and much though he tried to tell himself he wouldn't have gone that far, he was lying to himself and he knew it. The flash of possessive rage that had passed through him had been more than enough of a sign even if he wanted to ignore his inner feelings and push them aside as was proper, and the satisfaction when she had let him defend her, had left with _him_ and not his rival...

Damn. See, and he shouldn't even be thinking of Zolan as that. Her unwanted suitor, yes, but his rival? Since when did he have any right to stake that kind of a claim? He frowned and flicked a stone out of the small meditation alcove he'd taken over this evening. He was supposed to be preparing a song to share with their hosts in a few days, but he couldn't concentrate on coming up with the right words with his mind so full of everything else.

He shouldn't have been surprised when she slipped into the alcove as well and sat down next to him, but somehow he was anyway.

"_I See you,_" he said, flashing her a somewhat wry smile, "_did I forget a meal again?_"

"_Not this time,_" she shook her head, "_I came to speak to you, Tom. To have that private conversation you have been putting off._"

"_I had hoped you might have forgotten,_" he looked away, "_I said things...or, well, almost said things that I had no right to say. It really would be best if we both put them out of our minds and went on as we have been._"

"_Tom,_" she reached over to turn his head so that he had to look at her, "_you may try to tell yourself such things, but you cannot look in my eyes and tell me you do not care for me._"

Tom's eyes met hers and he couldn't look away, becoming hyper-aware of just how close they were in the tiny alcove, and how much of her skin was touching his. It felt better than he should have allowed it to, especially the way the long beads of her necklace brushed against his arm as she leaned in closer.

"_You're right,_" he sighed finally, "_I can't tell you that, because I __**do**__ care for you, very much, but I also can't act on it._"

"_Because you are a _scientist_ and should not become attached to that which you study?_" she frowned at him, "_or because I am not of your kind?_"

"_That isn't it at all!_" he protested, "_It's not! You have no idea how much I want to act on my feelings, but I __**can't**__! It wouldn't be safe!_"

"_Safe for who, Tom?_" she shook her head, "_Safe for me, or safe for you? I do not see how it could not be safe for me, so it must be fear for yourself that keeps you hiding._"

"_If they found out that I...have feelings for you, it would make you a target,_" he said, unable to stop himself from gently running his fingers over her cheek, "_even if they didn't know specifically, if they found out about my feelings it could even make them lose what little trust they have in me and then I wouldn't be able to keep everyone safe anymore,_" he said insistently. "_Don't you see? If I truly...feel the way I feel for you, I can't ever let anyone know. Even though I would love nothing better than to stand before everyone and prove that I have every right to act as possessive as Zolan's actions the other day made me feel._"

"_Noone has to know, Tom,_" she whispered as she stroked her fingers over his hair, and he shivered with the effort of resisting the urge to pull her onto his lap and just hold her there indefinitely, "_None of them know about Ka'tsi tsmuke's mating, so why would they know anything about how we feel for each other?_"

Her arguments were getting harder and harder to deny, and Tom groaned softly. "_Why do you have to tempt me like this?_" he shook his head, "_I don't ever want to do anything to put you in danger, Ninat...not even the echo of a possibility of it._"

"_Did you not say to Zolan that only an ignorant idiot tries to base a relationship on the needs of only one person?_" she pointed out, "_How can you then persist in this argument when it is __**my**__ choice whether to accept any possible consequences of us being together? There is danger in the events of every day, how can it be better to suffer alone when the burdens would be easier borne when they are shared? Or are you a man who says one thing and does the opposite._"

Damnit and now she was using his own words against him, and he couldn't deny she was right. He _was_ being a hypocrite of the highest order and, worse than that, he could tell that even though she was a little angry and frustrated with him right now, she was also really hurt by his constant rejection...and he couldn't stand hurting her.

"_I...can't deny you that choice,_" he finally admitted, "_even though I wish...I almost wish my feelings for you weren't returned. Then I could watch you and ensure you were never hurt, and it would not matter if my own heart suffered because at least yours would not. I can't promise things will always be easy if you choose this road._"

"_Nothing worth having is easy,_" she smiled, "_the struggle makes success that much sweeter. I know you know this, Tom._"

"_I know,_" he admitted with a wry smile, "_I've gotten that same lecture from both my parents at various times in my life, and I've never acted the coward before. It's just that I've never had anyone else to worry about before either,_" he shrugged, "_it takes a bit of getting used to._"

"_Whatever comes we will face it together,_" she assured him, "_That is how it would have been whether you admitted your feelings or not._"

She cuddled against him with a smile, and he very carefully wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head under his chin with a sigh. "_You are more than I deserve,_" he chuckled.

"_You are everything I deserve and more,_" she shook her head. "_You See me, Tom Sully, as noone else has, and that is why you are beloved to me._"

The sensation of joy that passed through him at her words was so deep as to be almost visceral. He tilted her head up and without any further thought on the matter leaned in to kiss her. It wasn't like their first, almost incidental kiss during Jake's _iknimaya_, this was a hungry, soul-searing kiss that said all the words he couldn't yet - that showed her just how very precious she was to him, and the lengths to which he would go to keep her safe and by his side.

When he finally pulled back to catch his breath, she smiled and leaned her forehead against his. "_I See you, Tom,_" she reassured him, "_I know._"

* * *

**So how many of you saw that one coming XD Well okay everyone knew it was going to happen sooner or later! Of course, everything isn't sunshine and roses yet by any stretch of the imagination, but progress has taken a great big jump forward! Yay for persistance! And jealousy ^_~**

**And now for...**

**Vocab:**

_**nantang**_** - viperwolf  
**

_**tswin**_** - queue  
**

_**tsmukan**_** - brother  
**

_**ikranay**_** - forest banshee**_**  
**_

_**tsmuke**_** - sister  
**

_**olo'eyktan**_** - clan leader  
**

_**tsahìk**_** - spiritual leader  
**

_**uniltìranyu / ayuniltìranyu**_** - dreamwalker(s) - avatar(s)**_**  
**_

_**aysoktor**_** - doctors, more like scientists in this context  
**

_**Eywa'eveng**_** - Pandora - the name the Na'vi use for their planet  
**

_**aysamsiyu**_** - warriors  
**

_**Kelutral**_** - Hometree  
**

_**timuntxa**_** - marriage, mating  
**

_**talioang**_** - sturmbeest - big buffalo-like thing, but sizewise closer to a small asian elephant in comaprison to the Na'vi than an actual American Bison. Biiiiiig suckers!  
**

_**ikran**_** - banshee  
**

_**yerik**_** - hexapede  
**

_**pa'li**_** - direhorse  
**

_**Sempul**_** - father**_**  
**_

_**ketuwong**_** - alien  
**

_**'itan**_** - son  
**

_**Sa'nok**_** - mother  
**

_**tawtute**_** - sky person, human  
**

_**tsaheylu**_** - the (very special) bond  
**

_**iknimaya**_** - the rite of passage to become a hunter  
**


	26. Chapter 25: Great Expectations

**Yup, another chapter, and it's my longest one yet! Still within the limit I've tried to set for myself though, but quite honestly, I couldn't cut anything out here, or split the chapter, so you're all just going to have to sit still an extra five minutes or so while you read ^_^**

**It's a chapter of ups and downs, but still mostly ups for now. Start girding your loins, my faithful fans. It's only three or four chapters now until the beginning of the "time of sorrow" although I promise I'll do my best not to go completely dark. I don't want to upset you all more than necessary, after all. Not to mention myself! But in any case, that's in the future still. Now on with the story!**

**

* * *

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Brotherhood Chapter 25: Great Expectations

When the hunters made it back to Hometree, Jake had figured the day was now over and he could have a bite to eat and get some sleep, but he had figured wrong. He should've known better. After all, he'd already seen that the Omatikaya would seize on almost anything as an excuse for a bit of a party, and such a rare and successful hunt was more than just a bit of an excuse!

Even as exhausted as he and the rest of the hunters were from their long day, it was clear that among Na'vi hunters, that old Earth saying was true, they work hard, and they play harder. Before long, Jake found himself surrounded by other hunters, all passing around bowls of booze and trading only-slightly-inflated tales of the hunt they had just returned from. The Na'vi might not lie, but Jake quickly realized that they weren't above a little judicious editing. He laughed at one hunter's description of how he'd tumbled at least five times without so much as a scratch. It was likely the man had maybe tumbled twice, and he did have a few scrapes (which he insisted were from skinning and butchering) but Jake wasn't about to call him on it.

He wasn't quite sure how it happened, but somewhere around halfway through the night's drinking, Jake looked up from the bowl of booze being passed to him to see Tsu'tey's face - and the future _olo'eyktan_ wasn't even frowning lightly. He looked a heckofalot younger when he smiled, Jake thought to himself, then he shrugged and took the bowl, drinking the whole thing down in one gulp. He wasn't about to turn down an offer of peace like that. He grabbed a full bowl from where they sat next to the giant gourd-thing they got filled from and passed it over to Tsu'tey.

"You're reallly an awesome shot, man, you know that?" Jake grinned at Tsu'tey as he took the booze a little hesitantly, then shook his head with a wry expression and threw it back just as fast as Jake had.

"For one who is just learning, you did very well also," Tsu'tey admitted. "Of course, it just says Neytiri is the best teacher."

Jake laughed at that. "Definitely," he grinned, "She's absolutely incredible. You don't know how lucky you got it, man, I'm telling you! This equality thing, having guys and girls both doing whatever they want, it makes total sense to me! You'd think humans would have figured that out by now, but there's still way more girls stuck at home and not allowed to do "guy" stuff. Not that my family was like that," he grinned, and when Tsu'tey passed him another bowl, he sipped this one a little slower as he kept talking, since the usually-surly warrior didn't seem to mind. "My family was totally backwards. Da was the stay-at-home one, the scientist, and Mom... Well, my mom could've kicked the asses of almost everyone I've ever met. She was what you'd probably call a _nawm tsamsiyu_, a great warrior," he smiled. "I miss them. You don't know how lucky you are, having both your parents still around."

"Your parents are...with Eywa?" Tsu'tey asked carefully.

"With Eywa?" Jake blinked, "Well, if you mean did they die, yeah. We say they're "in heaven" but I guess it means the same thing in the end." He tossed back the rest of the bowl he'd been sipping at and stood up. "Wups! 'Scuse me, man, gotta go drain the snake, be right back."

He stumbled off in the direction of the "privies", almost managing to trip right over a few people. Luckily, though, all of them were in a similar state of inebriation and didn't seem to notice. Nobody noticed, at least, until he walked head-on into Peyral.

"_Good evening, Jhake,_" she grinned at him, catching him before he fell over, "_Will you have a drink with me to celebrate?_"

"Um...later?" he blinked, "gotta find the little boys' room...er...little boys' tree?" he giggled at her confused expression and did a little impromptu "pee dance" until the lightbulb turned on. "Be riiiiight back," he laughed as he dashed off, still a little off-kilter.

* * *

Peyral laughed as she watched Jhake go. Clearly he was more than a little touched by the effects of booze, but it didn't make him any less cute. He was just like a little boy in some ways, but in others...well... She couldn't say she minded the extra muscle bulk that his strange heritage provided him. He looked very grab-able if she did say so herself.

She sighed a little as she headed back toward the group she had been drinking with. His announcement earlier that she reminded him of a warrior sister had been...a little disappointing, but then, she wasn't blind to what was going on. She knew he had feelings for Neytiri, and she could see that the apprentice _tsahìk_ had feelings for him as well, but she also knew that Neytiri was far too obedient and proper a girl to do something as ridiculous as to actually break the promise between Tsu'tey and herself, no matter how much she might want to. And when that time came and Jhake was disappointed, Peyral knew she would be there to comfort him. She had no doubt that eventually all would turn out as she wished; that eventually Jhake would be her mate. In the meantime, she could allow her hunt-sister a little more time with him. After all, she could afford to be generous in this, and she actually felt a little sorry for Neytiri, knowing that she would have to give up such a wonderful man.

* * *

When Jake finally made it back to the fireside, Tsu'tey had obviously had a couple more bowls to drink, and actually grinned up at him as he sat down.

"It's strange," he said to Jake, not even slurring despite his obvious inebriation, "I had thought maybe you wouldn't look so ugly after a few more bowls, but you still look like your strange, misshapen self."

"Naw, man," Jake laughed, gratefully taking another bowl from one of the other hunters sitting nearby, "that's only girls. I'm still my same ugly self no matter how much you drink, it's just the ugly girls that get prettier." He scanned the crowd with an obviously overstated gesture. "Not that you got any ugly girls here. I mean, damn, man! You guys're blessed with the most gorgeous population of women I've seen anywhere! Even if there aren't any busty blondes or redheads."

"Busty?" Tsu'tey asked, confused.

"Yeah, you know, boobs out to here," Jake cupped his hands about a foot in front of his chest. "Lots of _tawtute_ girls have at least two or three times the amount of chest the girls here have, especially the ones where I come from." He shook his head, laughing at Tsu'tey's disbelieving expression. "I'm serious, man! It's just how they're built! More hippy and busty. 'Sokay though, I don't miss it. They're in proportion for them, girls here're in proportion for here, just how it works."

"I will believe you for now," Tsu'tey shook his head, laughing, "but I would like to see for myself these differences. I suspect you are...exaggerating for effect."

"Pics or it didn't happen, got it," Jake laughed and tossed back another bowl. "You got it, man! You know, you're kinda fun when you're drunk, you should do it more often. I mean, I get you gotta put on a good, strong face, cause you're gonna be the leader one day and all that, but man, that stress'll kill you faster'n _palulukan_ if you don't watch it!"

Tsu'tey just rolled his eyes. "Now you sound like my mother," he said, making a face, "clearly you need to drink more."

* * *

Trudy laid back upside-down with her head dangling over her bunk, laughing at Norm's expression. "_Hìtxoa, ke tslolam. Rutxe liveyn._"

"You're getting really good at your pronunciation," Norm praised her, "but what I asked was "What do you do for your job?" so I would think you'd need to say "_kunsìp makto_" or something like that."

"And what I asked you," she stuck her tongue out at him, "was "I didn't quite get that, could you repeat it please?", not for you to tell me what you just said _nì'Ìnglìsì._"

"Oh," Norm blushed, "right, um, I said "_Ngaru lu pefnetxintìn nìtrrtrr?_" Sorry about that."

"No problem," she grinned at him, still upside-down, and reached over to pull him close enough to kiss his nose. "_Irayo_ for working so hard to teach me. I mean, I probably won't ever get much chance to use the language, seeing as how I'm just a chopper pilot, but it's nice to at least know what people're saying about you behind your back, or have some idea anyway."

"_Zolau nìprrte',_" Norm shrugged.

"Um, shouldn't that be "_zola'u nìprrte'?_" Trudy raised (lowered?) an eyebrow at him.

"That's what I said," he frowned slightly.

"Nope," she shook her head, "you left out the _tìftang_ in _zola'u_ again."

"She's right, you know," Grace said from the other module where she'd evidently just come out of link, "You did leave it out."

"How do you even... You've only been studying Na'vi for a couple weeks," Norm protested, "how do you notice me leaving them out when I've been studying for more than five years?"

"You're forgetting my advantage," Trudy grinned at him, "after all, "_cha'ak_" is one thing, and "_chaak_" is something else entirely. In fact, you can "_cha'ak chaak_" if you want, so...we gotta learn to pay attention to that kinda stuff."

"What advantage is that?" Grace asked as she came through the living quarters to settle down in front of her microscope.

"Um...oh nothing really," Trudy shook her head, quickly shutting down, "just I didn't start out speaking English when I was little, before we moved up to the States. Don't they always say being bilingual only makes learning other languages easier?"

"Nice try," Grace shook her head, "but I grew up close to the boarder and I know what Spanish sounds like. That wasn't Spanish."

Norm caught Grace's eye and frowned, giving his head a quick shake to try to get her not to push the issue.

"I never said what language it was," Trudy shrugged, "you just assumed. Doesn't matter. Everybody assumes. Safer for all concerned." She rolled back over onto her stomach, "Jake's sure late unlinking tonight," she said, changing the subject.

"Sturmbeest hunt," Grace shrugged. "He's probably royally drunk off his tail right now. He'll be out when he can't take any more I'm sure. It's a guy thing."

Norm sighed in relief. Clearly, she wasn't going to press the issue right now, and he'd just have to make sure she didn't remember to press it later. The fewer people who knew Trudy's real background, the less chance they might accidentally say something around the wrong person, after all.

* * *

It was a few days after the hunt that Jake had an encounter which would once again change his life in a fundamental way, although of course he had no idea of that at the time.

He was flying with Neytiri along the cliffs looking for prey, and he had just spotted a couple of _yerik_ below and was about to draw his bow when he got a strange, itchy feeling like the hairs on the back of his neck were trying to stand on end. He knew the sensation of being prey, he'd felt it before, although usually on the battlefield rather than when he was hunting, but what he couldn't figure out was why he was suddenly so on-edge. I mean, up here they were safe from any predator he could immediately think of, but...

But then he saw the shadow - the one that eclipsed his own - and he _knew_. He suddenly remembered there were things bigger than _ikran_ in the skies, and he knew if he didn't move fast they were going to be in big, big trouble.

"Dive!" he called out to Neytiri, who seemed to have realized their danger at about the same time he did.

The two of them fell from the sky toward the jungle below, jagging and trying to stay as random as possible. For the most part, Jake let Luke direct their evasive pattern, he just concentrated on staying along for the ride. He glanced over his shoulder to check on Neytiri and realized that she and Seze were a fraction behind him.

'No, damnit you bastard, you follow _me_,' Jake thought frantically as they tumbled through the air. If he got caught it would suck, sure, and yeah his real body probably wouldn't survive the death of his avatar, but it'd be worth it to keep her safe. 'You stay on my tail, not hers!'

And then they were beneath the canopy...but they weren't out of danger yet. The massive red bird of death was still right on their tails, cutting a path for itself using its armored head. And it was still WAY too close to Neytiri, damnit!

"Go! Go!" he shouted at her, trying to urge her on, while mentally he was still trying to encourage the beast to come after him. 'Follow me you ugly motherfucker,' he thought viciously, 'damnit follow me! Follow me!'

"Follow me!" he cried out loud this time, as he saw its jaws snap shut only inches from Seze's tail. He glanced back around, and then he saw salvation. Luke knew it too as they ducked through a hanging curtain of vines that the big...Jake still couldn't remember the name of the thing...knew right off it couldn't get through without getting snarled.

When it put on the brakes, turned and left to find an easier meal, Jake could honestly say he'd never felt so relieved in his life. Neytiri brought Seze to roost against a nearby tree, and he landed Luke next to them, trying to soothe both the _ikran_ and himself. He shared a terrified look with Neytiri as they told each other without words how close they had both just come to death, and then all of a sudden he started to chuckle. It was probably the thought that with her eyes and mouth so wide like that, Neytiri looked an awful lot like one of those four-handed monkey things.

His laughter seemed to startle her momentarily, then she, too laughed, throwing her head back in glee. It was the hysteria of relief, he knew that's all it was, but at that moment, nothing could have been more _right_ than sitting on his _ikran_ hanging off the side of a tree and laughing with her. And the way she tilted her head back when she laughed...God, all he wanted to do was nuzzle into her gorgeous neck, maybe kiss it a couple times... He suddenly wondered what a string of hickies would look like on Na'vi skin.

He shook his head to resettle his brains. He knew damned well he was reacting to the remaining adrenaline in his system, and he knew he'd better not let on what was going through his head either, because he knew if anything happened between them in this shared moment of the bliss of continued life, she wouldn't feel right about it. She was too good to let herself get carried away, and even if she might have gone along with a little life-affirming makeout session, he wouldn't do that to her, because he knew just how upset it would make her once she came back to her senses.

Which of course wasn't going to stop him from dreaming about what he _would_ have done if the way stood clear between them. No, he imagined he'd be replaying that little fantasy in front of his mind's eye for the rest of his life...however long or short that might turn out to be.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Hell's Gate, everything was progressing pretty much as it always did, at least, on the surface. Underneath, though, there was a whole world of new subterfuge among the science community. The best example of that could probably be seen in the actions of one Dolan MacCool, micro-lab tech. He looked to be hard at work analysing samples, and he was, but he was also hard at work on his computer, modifying it just enough so that the system thought he had high-level military clearance.

Sure, he might be a microbiology technician, but he and his brother Bailey hadn't only wound up here on Pandora because of their science credentials. Both of them had been skilled anarchist hackers for the _Fianna Nua_ when they were young, and although they'd tried to get out of the life when they realized what the group they had joined were really doing with the information they brought in, the chance to join the RDA's science program had just seemed a most opportune moment to, as the Americans like to say, get the heck out of Dodge. Or Dublin, really, but one can't be picky with their metaphors.

Right now he was finding himself very glad for his circumspect background. Especially since the computer systems here at Hell's Gate were nowhere near as secure as, say, the inner sanctum of the EU that he and Bailey had hacked back on Earth.

He was, just at this moment, rigging the computer to copy any memos written on Quaritch's office computer into a hidden folder on his. When everything came to a head, he wanted to have as much stored evidence as he could possibly drum up to be able to send on to the heads of Earth's governments. They might have given the RDA pretty much a blank cheque when it came to off-world mining operations, but Dolan knew that with the right pressure in the right places, world leaders always eclipsed industry. Especially if he could find the pictures he knew must be floating around somewhere of the attack on Grace's school years before.

That could wait, though. He quickly hit the button to change screens as he heard someone come in. He casually glanced over his shoulder, and smiled when he realized it was Moira.

"Hey there you," he laughed, "You had me worried for a minute there. I thought someone was wondering what a lazy man like myself would be doing working through the lunch hour."

"I could give you an excuse, if you like," she grinned at him, holding up a few computer-safe foods (otherwise known as space-sealed protein packs) before setting them down in front of him, then settling herself across his lap.

"What's all this about, then?" he raised an eyebrow at her, although he wasn't about to object to the presence of a pretty girl. Especially a redhead. He'd always been rather partial to redheads.

"Oh, I just figured if we're already going to be breaking some rules, might as well break the really stupid ones right along with it," she shrugged, "I'm guessing you weren't actually planning on complaining?"

"Good God no," he shook his head, "I'd have to be touched in the head to complain about..."

"Good," she whispered as she kissed him hard, "because I've been wanting to do this for about two years now. It would really spoil the mood if you didn't feel the same."

* * *

Miles Quaritch was pacing his office. Which was unusual for him, really. Usually he found more productive ways to use up the constant nervous energy that living seemed to generate for him, but today he was waiting on Parker's lazy ass, which didn't leave him options like lifting weights or hitting the obstacle course. And of course, after his last, rather disastrous affair, mind-wiping sex was pretty much off the menu. Made things way too messy when everybody was stuck on the same base indefinitely, and okay, he might not be the winner of the "world's most understanding guy" award, but he prided himself that he'd never let things get really messy with any woman. Until that last one, but he shouldn't even be thinking about that right now.

And he wouldn't be if Parker would get his lazy ass away from his golf clubs and back over here like it belonged. Especially given the fact that Parker was the one who'd called this little get-together in the first place.

Quaritch already knew his own plans, had known them for weeks now, and quite frankly, Parker didn't need to know anything more about the actual destination of the dozers than he already did, so Quaritch didn't plan to tell him. He'd give the bare bones of the report - that the dozers were still on schedule for the most part, maybe a day or two behind, but that was per the norm when moving through the Pandoran Jungle - and that would keep the little shit happy.

Quaritch wondered to himself, as the rat-faced little twit finally made it through the doors of the security head's office, whether he'd look better with those fuckin' golf clubs of his shoved up his ass. Sure as Hell'd look a lot funnier, anyway. Too bad he would never get a good enough excuse to actually try it. Little fag'd probably just get all horny over it anyway, he fuckin' loved his fuckin' clubs that much.

"So where do we stand, Miles?" Parker asked, sitting down without being invited and slinging his feet up onto Quaritch's desk.

"Progress is about where we expected to be," Quaritch shrugged, "we're still on schedule for the dozers to arrive at the village around the middle of August."

"Good, good," Parker nodded, "glad to know we're on target for that, at least. And our little mole?"

"Still giving decent intel," Quaritch nodded, "not as much lately, but I've got all I need out'a him anyway. I figure anything else I get at this point's just gravy." He flicked the little shit's shoes off his desk, "What's this really about, Parker?"

"Just getting my latest report ready to send off home," Parker grinned, standing up, "making sure we're all still on the same page. I'd hate to have anyone think we weren't a team up here."

"Naw, we're a team," Quaritch rolled his eyes, "now get out of my office before I decide to use you to add a little spice to my weightlifting bench.

"Always a ray of sunshine talking to you," Parker snarked over his shoulder as he slipped back out the door.

One of these days, that little rat was gonna bite off more than he could chew, and Quaritch really hoped he got to be the one to stick it to him where the sun don't shine. He was almost salivating at the thought, in fact.

Shit. He really needed to find something more to do with his time. Three years of enforced celibacy was really starting to suck ass.

* * *

Me'lina smiled to herself as she caught sight of Tom and Ninat eating breakfast together. The pair were subtle about it - likely because Tom had yet to undergo _uniltaron_ - but it was obvious that they were very close, if one knew what to look for. Of course, it helped that Me'lina and Tom had become good friends since the Omatikaya group's arrival. He had a seemingly unending fascination with everything the clan's craftspeople did, and the young potter found it was... nice... to have the opportunity to share her knowledge and expertise with someone who seemed to have a genuine interest.

Not that _she_ had any interest in Tom as anything other than a friend, of course. After all, she might not yet have met the one for her, but she knew it wasn't Tom. He didn't...smell right. Not that he smelled _bad_ per se, but Me'lina had known from the first moment they met that he wasn't her intended mate. Neither were any of the Omatikaya males who had arrived in the trading party, unfortunately. She didn't know why or how, but Me'lina knew that the first thing she would recognize about her intended mate was his scent. She'd woken up one morning knowing it with an intense, visceral scent memory, although where that memory had come from she had no idea. Perhaps she had met him at some time when she had been a child, and the scent had come back to her later. In any case, since she wasn't attracted to Tom in that way, she was more than free to enjoy his company and enjoy watching the tentative steps he and Ninat were starting to take together.

Me'lina stood then, and laughed at herself. She'd been so distracted watching them, trying to catch the tiny touches they seemed to exchange almost without thinking, that she had forgotten that she meant to actually go talk to Tom. She shook her head, rearranging the protective gauze she had donned for the day's activity and making sure her _tswin_ was tucked up safely, then went over to sit down next to the pair.

"_Good morning, ma Tom, ma Ninat,_" she smiled, "_I thought since you are guests of the Anurai you might not know the significance of this day. Today is the day we empty the kiln. Since I know Tom is so interested in our crafts, I would like to invite you to come and watch._" She grinned at them, "_Only watch, mind you. Don't touch anything until the potters say it is safe. Emptying the kiln can be a dangerous time, and I would not want anyone's fingers to get burned._"

"_We are honoured by your invitation,_" Ninat smiled at her, one of her hands rubbing subtly over the fingers of Tom's closest hand, "_and I will make sure my student behaves himself._"

"_I rather thought you might,_" Me'lina chuckled. "_He should be extra careful, since he has two extra fingers which might get burned, is it not so?_"

"_Hey!_" Tom protested, laughing, "_I'm always careful!_"

"_Careful where you shouldn't be, not careful enough where you should,_" Ninat laughed, "_I know how males work. I do have a brother, remember?_"

"_That reminds me,_" Me'lina shook her head, "_please extend my invitation to your brother and his lovely mate as well. And of course all your party is welcome to join us in tonight's celebrations._"

"_I will let them know,_" Ninat confirmed.

* * *

The emptying of the kiln was a far more formal event than Tom had expected. Of course he had been aware of the kiln itself. Unlike at the Omatikaya Hometree, the firepit here was much larger and extended under what looked to be an igloo-type structure made out of rock. There also wasn't a massive central loom here like the one they had at home. He had figured that rock structure had to be a kiln, but it hadn't occurred to him until just now as he watched the Anurai potters crawling into and out of it swathed in damp gauze just how dangerous it was to be a pottery worker in a technologically primitive culture. At least, to be a pottery worker on the scale of the Anurai.

Me'lina had explained, when he asked, that the large kiln was emptied only once a season, as it took weeks to cool down to the point where it was safe to enter, and even then, no one person could stay within its confines for more than five minutes at a time, and all had to take extreme precautions against the heat. The entryway was so low that even in his human form, Tom would have had to bend over to get inside, so for the Na'vi it was a tunnel that had to be crawled through. The floor had been covered in thick, damp moss to protect the hands and feet (and knees) of those who were working within, and each fired vessel was passed out wrapped in a fabric that looked very much like burlap, although it was much fluffier and softer to the touch.

Although their methods might be considered primitive by human pottery-workers, the quality of their product was beyond reproach. From water-vessels which could have hidden a grown human man inside them, down to tiny ornamental labrets, everything was finely crafted and intricately painted with glazes of all different colours, some of which were even iridescent. He had to keep reminding himself not to touch as more and more beautiful pieces were brought out and laid on blankets away from the fire. He knew how hot they were, and not just from being told. When they were in high school, Tom had once grabbed a sculpture he'd made in art class too soon with his bare hand, figuring if it was ready to come out of the kiln it must be safe. Not so much! He'd ended up with second-degree burns on two fingers and a massive lecture from the teacher, he wasn't about to go through _that_ again, thank you very much!

Still, they _were _beautiful.

* * *

After dinner on the night of their close escape, Jake followed Neytiri down to the main meeting-area of the clan. She had said she wanted to show him something, and he was curious what there could possibly be here that he hadn't seen before. Nothing _looked_ particularly new, but then, he could hardly say he knew all the secrets of this place. It would be a long, long time before that happened.

"Here," Neytiri took his hand, leading him to the raised area where Eytukan had stood that first fateful night when Jake had been brought to Hometree.

There was a kindof tribal decorated skeleton thingy there, which Jake had noticed before but never really paid much attention to. He'd always just figured it was some kind of esoteric decor statement - pretty, but with no other real purpose other than to wigg people out now and then when the firelight flickered over its empty eye sockets. As she led him right up to it, Jake suddenly realized something.

"That's the same thing that almost made lunch out of us, isn't it?" he asked, a slight note of awe entering his voice. He wondered how anyone had managed to take out such a massive beast in order to have the bones to set up in the middle of Hometree. But then again, maybe they'd just scavenged them from one that had already died.

"It is," Neytiri nodded.

"Our guys call it a "Great Leonopteryx"," he said, reaching out to feel the sharpness of one of the skull's wicked-looking teeth. He'd finally remembered the term during dinner, with the mad rush of panicked adrenaline well and truly washed from his system.

"It is _toruk_, "last shadow"," Neytiri smiled, and Jake immediately remembered the shadow that had alerted him to the attack.

"Dang right," he agreed, chuckling darkly, "it's the last one you'll ever see."

Neytiri moved up next to him and crouched down, peering up at the skull, and for a moment Jake thought it almost looked alive as the firelight flickered through it. "My grandfather's grandfather was _Toruk Makto_, rider of last shadow," she said with a thoughtful smile.

"He rode this?" Jake was surprised. Well, more like stunned. He tried to imagine what it would be like to make _tsaheylu_ with such a beast and pulled a blank. It must have been an incredible feat.

"_Toruk_ chose him," Neytiri nodded, "it has only happened five times since the time of the first songs."

"That's a long time," Jake nodded thoughtfully, still gazing at the skull. Something about it was...captivating, one might say almost mystical.

"Yes," she agreed. "_Toruk Makto_ was mighty." There was pride shining clear in her voice, "He brought the clans together in a time of great sorrow. All Na'vi people know this story."

"He must've been one amazing dude," Jake smiled at her, finally pulling his attention away from the skull. "One of these days I'd like to hear the whole thing."

"Perhaps when Ninat is home," Neytiri shook her head slightly, "she tells better than I."

"Alright," Jake nodded, "I'll pester her for the story when she gets back. Besides, that way Tommy can hear it too."

Neytiri just patted his hand. "Come, it is almost time for sleep."

* * *

That night, when he sat up in his withered body in the link chamber and hauled himself into his wheelchair, Jake came to a decision. It was time he stopped sending reports to Quaritch unrequested. Sure, a lot of what he'd given the commander was total bunk, but there was enough real information sprinkled in there to spell trouble if the sec-ops was given or manufactured an excuse to strike against the Omatikaya, and Jake had come to treasure his new home far too dearly to risk it any more than he already had, especially in the first few days he'd been there, before, as Neytiri would have put it, he could truly See.

* * *

A few days before their party was scheduled to leave the Anurai and return to Omatikaya territory, Tom and Cathy were informed that the _Olo'eyktan_ and _Tsahìk_ wanted to speak to them in order to gain a better understanding of the _tawtute_ and _uniltìranyu_ ways. Wanting to be sure he started things out on the right foot, Tom went to Ninat the night before the meeting and sat down next to her.

"_What troubles you, ma Tom?_" she turned to smile at him.

"_I want to be sure I don't say the wrong thing tomorrow,_" he admitted, "_and I also wondered if you might...help me redo my hair? I want to look my best for such an important meeting._"

"_Of course I will help you with your hair,_" she smiled, running her fingers over his head lightly, "_although I suspect it would be fine as it is. You just like my head massages._"

Tom blushed at that, but he laughed, too. "Busted," he said, "you're right, I just wanted an excuse to feel your fingers on my head again. It's so relaxing..."

"_How can I refuse such a heartfelt request,_" she smiled, drawing her finger down his forehead and along the bridge of his nose, "_Lean back against me and I will get right to work._"

Tom shivered with pleasure as her fingers went to work. "_Hey, I've been meaning to ask,_" he said, "_What's with that forehead thing you just did. You've done it before, but I always forgot to ask._"

"_It feels good,_" she shrugged, "_The forehead is...sensitive, so a light touch there feels nice, or it does for Na'vi. Is it different for an uniltìranyu?_"

"_No, not really,_" he admitted, "_It feels very nice. It's just...different from what we do to make each other feel nice._"

"_We will have to explore those differences sometime then,_" Ninat said, and he could hear her grinning even if he couldn't see her as she fussed with his braids, "_for now, just relax and let me get to work. I will have you looking good and very calm for your meeting, I promise._"

* * *

The next morning, when breakfast was done, Tom and Cathy walked together to the alcove where the leaders of the Anurai sat to conduct private meetings. The couple's young son led them inside and then went to sit by his parents, trying to look grown-up and stoic, although it was obvious that he couldn't keep his eyes off the strange people in front of him with their extra digits and Cathy's sports-bra top (She had adopted Na'vi dress for the most part, but she still wasn't used to walking around with her breasts on display with only a few feathered or beaded necklaces for modesty)

"_Thank you for agreeing to speak with us,_" the _tsahìk_, 'Anansi, nodded to them, "_Please be at ease and sit. This meeting is to be informal, we will not stand on ceremony._"

"_Thank you,_" Tom nodded, sitting and trying not to fidget, "_Please feel free to ask us anything, and we will do our best to answer, although I warn you, it is likely some of our answers may seem strange._"

"_We expect the ways of the tawtute to be strange,_" Pontep, the _olo'eyktan_, smiled faintly at them, "_but if we are to ever have to deal directly with these strangers to our world, it would be best if we dealt with our surprise now, ratter than when it might cause more trouble with those to whom our ways are also strange._"

"_That is very wise of you,_" Cathy nodded, "_The tawtute have a saying, "_forewarned is forearmed_" which, in simple terms translates to having knowledge of the ways of others before you meet them provides you with the tools to anticipate what they might do._"

"_We among the Anurai have never seen an actual tawtute,_" Pontep admitted, "_but we have seen their kunsìp at a distance. Is it true that they grow no larger than children, and have their tails removed at birth?_"

"_They are the size of Na'vi children, yes,_" Tom agreed, "_but they do not remove their tails, they simply do not possess tails. Well, not really._" he glanced at Cathy, "_Maybe we need some drawing materials. Tawtute "tails" are simply bones which help form the structure of their hips, they have no external tail. They are designed more for flatlands than forests._"

"_Kal'il, fetch us two smooth plotting-boards and two charcoal sticks,_" 'Anansi gestured to her son, "_I am curious to have a better idea of what these uniltìranyu are describing. It is one thing to be told the sea is wide and blue, it is something else to fly over it and see with your own eyes._"

"_That is very true,_" Cathy nodded, "_and a picture of the sea can be more helpful than a description, if imparting slightly less knowledge than seeing it with your own eyes._"

"_Exactly,_" 'Anansi nodded, smiling slightly, "_but for now, pictures and words will have to do._"

"_I would have to say,_" Tom said thoughtfully, "_that the most important difference between Na'vi and tawtute - more important even than differences in size or colour or the tools they use, is that tawtute lack the tswin. They are unable to tsaheyl si, and because of that, their understanding of the bond between all people and animals and plants on this world is stunted at best._"

"_The poor things,_" 'Anansi shook her head, pity clear in her eyes. "_that is truly sad. How happy for both of you that as uniltìranyu you are able to experience what they cannot._"

"_We are fortunte indeed,_" Cathy agreed.

* * *

It had been almost two weeks since their mating, and a week or so since, as Taka joked, sanity had returned, when Louise started to notice something odd going on with her avatar. At first she wasn't sure that she wasn't just imagining things, or maybe she was still a little distracted, but she had seriously the worst case of dropsy she could ever remember having in her life! It was like she was suddenly physically incapable of holding onto things and thinking at the same time if she was in her avatar.

Of course, Taka didn't miss noticing, and teased her mercilessly...well, until she got tired of the teasing and snapped at him. Then he was a little more careful not to upset her. She probably would have just laughed along with him if the dropsy was an intermittent thing, but it had become almost constant, and that was worrying her. Did she maybe have some Na'vi illness she didn't know about? That thought was distressing. She didn't _want_ her avatar getting sick! She thought about saying something to Neytiri about it the next time she dropped in for a visit, but now that Taka was hunting on his own (mostly) the visits had become a lot less frequent. In fact, nobody had been by since their mating, she now realized. She wondered if perhaps that had been on purpose, to give them a bit of privacy. It was a nice sentiment, but now she needed some advice!

It was another week, in fact, before Neytiri dropped by again, and by then Louise was feeling even worse. She would get random dizzy spells, especially first thing after linking up when she sat up in bed, although she had so far managed to hide them from Taka. She didn't want to worry him, after all. Better by far that she talk to Neytiri first, who might have some idea what was going on with her and how to fix it, before she caused her mate to go into "superprotective" mode on her and he started keeping her in bed all day or some such silly thing!

While Taka was occupied, Louise drew Neytiri to the side as casually as she could. "_I need to ask you something,_" she said quietly, glancing at Taka to make sure he was still busy.

"_What is it you need to know?_" Neytiri frowned a little, not sure what all the subterfuge was about.

"_I've been feeling...a little strange lately,_" Louise explained, "_and I think I might be coming down with something, but I don't know very much about what sicknesses the Na'vi have which I might have caught...I study plants mostly, not people,_" she gave Neytiri a sheepish look. "_I don't want to worry him if it's nothing, but..._"

Neytiri nodded and smiled slightly, "_but you want to be sure if you are sick or not,_" she nodded, "_I understand. What are the signs you see in yourself which make you believe you may be sick?_"

Louise shrugged. "_At first it was just that I kept dropping things,_" she said, "_which was a little annoying but not all that troubling, but now...I feel as though my head is spinning._" She didn't know the Na'vi word for "dizzy" even if there was one - that was a definite oversight she was going to have to correct as soon as possible! "_It is especially bad in the mornings when I first sit up, but at random times through the day I have the same spinning feeling and weakness, and have to sit down before I fall over._"

"_I...am not a healer,_" Neytiri admitted, "_but I think I may know what is troubling you. I don't think you are sick, if that makes you feel any better._"

"_But if I'm not sick, then why would I be feeling so strange?_" Louise frowned, frankly confused.

"_You and he are mated now, are you not?_" Neytiri pointed out, "_I would think a mated woman would recognize such signs as you have been showing._"

"_What does our mating have to do with anything?_" Louise was even more confused, "_Cathy hasn't mentioned feeling dizzy or dropping things and she's been mated longer than I have._"

"_These things do not happen to all mated women at the same speed,_" Neytiri laughed a little, "_there is one more sign to look for to be sure...come, we need somewhere a little shaded, so your sanhì are visible._"

"_Under the trees over there maybe?_" Louise indicated a shadowed grove off to the left.

"_That will do,_" Neytiri nodded. Once they were in the dimmer shade where the glow of their bioluminescent spots stood out against their skin, Neytiri held out her hands. "_I need to see your stomach and chest,_" she explained, "_may I move your garment?_"

"_Of course,_" Louise agreed, slipping her tanktop up and letting it rest around her shoulders. They were both girls, after all, and considering how little Neytiri wore on top...well, she figured if it didn't bug the Omatikaya princess, it shouldn't bug her.

Neytiri took one of Louise's hands and placed it over her diaphragm, then smiled what Louise could only describe as a slightly cheeky smile. "_Look,_" she said, "_do you see how much brighter the sanhì on your belly are compared to those on the rest of your body?_"

Louise looked down and blinked, surprised. "_You're right,_" she agreed, "_They're definitely noticeably stronger in their glow. What does it mean?_"

Neytiri shook her head, "_sometimes you ayuniltìranyu amaze me with what you do not know. It means that Eywa has blessed you,_" she rolled her eyes.

"_Eywa has blessed me?_" Louise asked, still confused, then, as the possible (well, probable really) meaning of that phrase sank in past the mental block. "You mean I'm...pregnant?" she whispered, wide-eyed in shock. She even forgot to speak in Na'vi her shock was so great.

"Why does it surprise you?" Neytiri looked at her oddly, "surely you would expect maybe to become pregnant now that you are mated."

Louise suddenly felt quite dizzy again and had to sit down, although she was pretty sure this time it was nothing to do with symptoms of being...with child...and everything to do with shock. "I... I guess I should've considered the possibility," she admitted, "but I just never even thought... Oh God..." she moaned, "oh I'm gonna be in so much trouble..."

Neytiri sat next to her, a little uncertain, and took one of Louise's hands in her own. "What makes you worry?" she asked, "A child should be a happy thing."

"I know it should be," Louise sighed, "but things are never that simple. This body," she indicated herself, "it's...well, I guess it would be like if you made a very special, intricate weaving or something, and you gave it to someone and told them that they could use it, but that it still belonged to you, and you could take it back whenever you wished. This body doesn't actually belong to me, even though I'm the only one who can use it."

Neytiri frowned, obviously very confused.

"If the people in charge find out about this, they could take this body away from me, or...or even take my baby away," she shook her head, "they will want to know how this happened, to study how pregnancy works in this body... They would say something like "oh, because this has never happened before with an avatar we need to make sure everything is alright with your baby" but then for sure someone who didn't care would find a way to take the baby..." She wrapped her arms around her waist and curled nervously in on herself.

"I promise that will not happen," Neytiri wrapped her arms around Louise's shoulders and pulled the _uniltìranyu_ woman against her. "You will be safe out here with your mate and your _palulukan_ children, and when the time comes, if you have any worry about your child's safety, the Omatikaya will foster him or her for as long as you need."

"You would do that? Even for the child of two _uniltìranyu_ scientists?" Louise blinked, looking slightly less worried.

"Of course. A child is innocent, no matter how strange the parents," Neytiri smiled, half-teasing her.

"Thank you," Louise breathed a sigh of relief, hugging her tightly, "thank you so, so much. Now...I think I'm going to have a lot of questions, but the first one is: is there any way to make the dizzyness less?"

"I've been told that soon mothers have much relief from spending time with _utral aymokriyä_," Neytiri shrugged, "I don't know all the cures though, since most women are told them when they are mated, which I am not, yet."

"Of course," Louise nodded. "Anything you _can _tell me will be a great help."

* * *

Later that day, after Neytiri had flown back to Hometree, Louise headed toward her mate. She'd avoided him most of the day after her talk with Neytiri, trying to look like she was working as she mulled over everything she had learned. She would have waited to tell him, but she knew that he would realize something was up the moment they next linked, and she knew he would be hurt if she kept this from him and he had to learn indirectly.

Still, she was mildly terrified of how he would react. They had never discussed children, after all, since all women sent to Pandora were implanted with a five-year fertility control device before they even went into cryo, and the device was always replaced in good time. The RDA did not want to turn its mining colony into a breeding colony, and human fertility was considered a detriment to efficient working conditions. After all, a baby was another mouth to feed that wouldn't be productive for almost two decades - far too much of a drain on resources!

Taka was just cleaning up from the children's dinner when she found him, and the first thing she did was wrap her arms around him from behind and bury her head against his back, clinging to him tightly.

"What's up?" he chuckled, "did you miss me or something? You're the one who's been busy all day."

"I...talked to Neytiri today about my dropsy," she said quietly, and he must have heard something in her voice, because he turned and pulled her into his arms, tucking her head under his chin.

"Tell me what you learned," he said, "is it serious?"

"Well..." she hedged, "you could say it's extremely serious, but not in the way you're thinking. I'm...well, I'm not actually _sick_, in the traditional sense of the word..."

He pulled back far enough to look at her, and she had to force herself not to look away. "Whatever it is, you know I'm here for you," he said, catching her hands in his and squeezing them soothingly.

"I think I'm going to have to depend on that more than you probably know," she said, taking a deep breath, "Taka, I'm..." She shook her head, her shoulders slumping. She couldn't even say the word, not with him looking at her with such concern in his eyes. She knew she was bungling this royally, but she did the only thing she could think to explain things to him without breaking down completely. She took one of his hands and placed it over her lower abdomen in that gesture that she'd always thought was incredibly corny when she saw it in movies and whatnot.

Corny or not, though, it did the job. His eyes went wide, and even with his avatar's blue skin she could see that he'd paled. "You're pregnant?" he whispered, "is that even...possible?"

"Apparently so," she nodded, "Neytiri says I have all the symptoms, and...it makes sense, in a way. I mean, it's not like anyone ever expected avatar drivers to be doing things like having sex in their avatars, so why would they do anything about fertility? And apparently our bodies are...in full working order, and not just for the fun parts of sex," she said, blushing.

"We're going to have a baby!" Taka grinned at her, and she couldn't help grinning back.

"We are," she nodded, "in about ten and a half months, or so I'm told. I'm actually excited about it, but Taka? I'm also really, really scared, and not just for myself. We can't live out here at Site 12 forever. What's going to happen when we get called back to base and I'm as big as a house? Or even worse, what if someone finds out and takes our baby away? Neytiri said the Omatikaya would foster the baby for us if we had to keep him or her safe, but what if we don't find out in time and they come and take the baby?"

"They can try," Taka growled, "but I think they might find it harder than they think to separate me from our child." He pulled her in close again, hugging her tightly and possessively to him. "Noone, not even the corporate goons, will ever come between our family, I can promise you that."

Louise breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, we have plenty of time to start planning for anything that might happen," she said, "personally I'm hoping that as long as our research shows positive results, we can manage to get away with staying out here and only checking in now and then in our human bodies."

"Then that's what we'll do for now," Taka agreed. Then he laughed as he felt the children pull in close around the two of them, leaning into them comfortingly and making their purr-like sounds "but I think we're upsetting the _chibi-tachi_, and such worrying can't be good for the baby either. Come on, let's get you fed and ready for sleep. We'll talk about this more in the morning when we've both had a little more time to process things."

"That's actually sounding like a really good plan," Louise agreed, covering a sudden yawn. She hadn't realized until he said it, but she was really tired. But then, emotionally stressful days could tend to do that to a girl, especially one in her condition. The one shared symptom of pregnancy between both Na'vi and humans was tiredness, after all.

"Everything will look brighter in the morning," he assured her, kissing her forehead. "How could it not? We're going to have a baby!"

* * *

**I thought I should take this moment to answer a couple of questions I'm sure are in some of your minds. Or not. Well anyway I'm going to answer them whether you wondered or not, just in case ^_~**

**1) What's a labret?**

**In modern parlance, a labret usually refers to any piercing of the lower lip, but in more anthropological terms, it usually refers to a plug made of wood, clay or metal which is used to stretch the lip, often only a little, but it can be taken to extremes  
**

**2) Explain "Fianna Nua"**

**Okay, this one's made up out of whole cloth, but just imagine a new incarnation of our IRA or the Fenians of the past. Basically an Irish sovereignty movement, mostly non-violent, but like any such movement there are extremists who do extreme things.  
**

**Now! Vocab! And there's quite a bit of it this chapter. In fact, I've somehow managed to use at least one word in every single foreign language I've brought into the fic thus far! Now that takes skills!**

**Vocab:**

**Na'vi:**  
**_olo'eyktan_ - Clan leader**  
**_nawm _- great/powerful (person)**  
**_tsamsiyu_ - warrior**  
**_tsahìk _- spiritual leader, shaman**  
**_tawtute _- sky person, human**  
**_palulukan _- pretty (deadly) big Pandoran kitty**  
**_kunsìp _- gunship**  
**_makto_ - rider (or just "ride" more properly, but due to JC's insistence, the more proper _maktoyu_ got "slang" treatment to explain the shorter term)**  
**_nì'Ìnglìsì_ - "in English"**  
**_irayo_ - thank you**  
**_zola'u nìprrte' _- you're welcome (literally "come pleasurably") **  
**_tìftang _- the ' in Na'vi words. It represents a glottal stop, and the literal translation is "stopping"**  
**_yerik _- Na'vi deer**  
**_ikran _- the pretty birds with the sharp teeth that Na'vi ride**  
**_uniltaron _- the dream hunt - the Na'vi rite of passage to adulthood**  
**_tswin _- queue - the lovely extension of the nervous system that lets the Na'vi interact with their environment**  
**_toruk_ - Biiiiig red birdy of doom!**  
**_tsaheylu _- the bond created between beings using the queue**  
**_uniltìranyu / ayuniltìranyu _- dreamwalker(s), avatar(s)**  
**_tsaheyl si_ - the action of making the bond**  
**_sanhì _- stars or, in this case, the bioluminescent dots which cover the skin of the Na'vi and avatars**  
**_utral aymokriyä_ - tree of voices**

**Na'vi phrases:**  
**_Hìtxoa, ke tslolam. Rutxe liveyn._ - I'm sorry, I didn't quite understand, can you repeat that please?**  
**_Ngaru lu pefnetxintìn nìtrrtrr?_ - What is it you habitually do? / What is your (usual activity) job?**

**Both these phrases are taken directly from Dr. Frommer's blog: naviteri (dot) org so if you want further information about their breakdown please check it out. Or just check it out anyway, it's an awesome resource!**

**Yucatec Maya:**  
**_cha'ak_ - starch**  
**_chaak _- to boil**

**Gaelic:**  
**_Fianna _- the (mythical?) band of warriors which protected Ireland in ancient times**  
**_nua _- new**

**Japanese:**  
**_chibi-tachi_ - little ones**


	27. Chapter 26: Winding Roads

**Okay, this took a little longer to get out than I had anticipated, but fear not, I'm still planning to get close to chapter 30 by the end of the month. How am I going to manage this marvelous feat, you ask? I've got bits of chapters 27-29 written and/or plotted out already, so it shouldn't take too very long to manage to crank it all out. Plus, they're chapters whose events are at least partially covered by the movie, which helps, since I'm able to haul out my DVD and refresh my memory of people's faces and expressions and reactions to things.**

**Anyway, enough of my nattering, on with the chapter!  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 26: Winding Roads

After the _talioang_ hunt (and more specifically after the party that followed it) Tsu'tey found himself becoming more and more easy around Jake. It wasn't that he completely trusted the young _uniltìranyu_ hunter, but he was definitely beginning to see the better side of him. Jake was a hard worker, and even when things were difficult for him, he never lost his sense of humour. Both were qualities that Tsu'tey had to admit had they been evident in any other young Na'vi hunter would have been a sign that this was a man who would advance to be one of the great men of a generation. Tsu'tey had to keep reminding himself, though, that Jake _wasn't_ any other young hunter, and friendly as he was, Tsu'tey did not want to completely let his guard down. He was definitely starting to see the advantages, though, in becoming friends.

Besides which, Jake knew things about _tawtute_ tactics which Tsu'tey could never have hoped to learn on his own. He had even visited Jake to chat a time or two since that night, and had taken him for a training session or three. Not that the man needed much training! He really was quite skilled, especially considering his situation. Tsu'tey wondered if perhaps that had something to do with what he had known before becoming _uniltìranyu_...

His thoughts were interrupted by a light tug on his tail, and he turned to see his little sister Laneya standing there. Of course, he had suspected it would be her. She was just about the only person who could get away with something like that. Anyone else would have gotten a snarl and a sharp word. Well, okay, maybe not the kids...Tsu'tey had an admitted soft spot for children, but then, who didn't?

"_I thought today you were studying with Sa'nok?_" he knelt down to her level.

"_I'm done for today, 'tey,_" she made a face at him, "_it's already almost dinnertime. Didn't you notice?_"

Tsu'tey looked up at the sky through the branches of _Kelutral_ and sampled the air. "_Do you know, I think you're right,_" he laughed, "_it is almost dinnertime. How did that happen?_"

"_You were thinking and then the time passed,_" Laneya giggled, "_or maybe a giant nantang came and is eating the sun, making time pass faster._"

Tsu'tey gave her a very confused look, which only made her giggle harder. "_You don't actually believe such a thing is possible,_" he asked carefully.

"_Of course not!_" Laneya laughed harder, "_I just wanted to see if you were listening to me. Sa'nok told me to come and remind you it's your day to get your hair done and she said I get to help._"

"_Thank you, I had forgotten,_" he smiled, standing up and taking her hand, "_why don't we head back to her together._"

"_You should carry me,_" Laneya made a cute face at him, "_because you still can. Didn't you say before that you'll miss it when I'm not small enough to climb on your shoulders anymore?_"

"_That is the sort of thing a little girl is supposed to pretend she did not hear her older brother say,_" Tsu'tey scolded her warmly, "_besides, you have two good legs, you should use them to walk on._"

"_Instead of practicing how to climb the largest looms by climbing on you?_" she giggled, "_alright, I won't ride you today._"

Once they got back to where Tamrrlìn was waiting for them and Tsu'tey had been suitably scolded for forgetting where he was supposed to be, he settled down to have his hair fussed with. It took patience to have such tight and intricate braids, but it was well worth the effort in the end, and besides, it was nice having someone to fuss with his hair. Even if it was his mother fussing with it and not the mate he still did not have yet when others of his age had been mated for some seasons and even had young children.

But there was no sense dwelling on it. After all, everything would come as Eywa willed.

"_So, tsmukan, I see you listened to my very good advice and now you're being friends with Jhakesuuly,_" Laneya grinned once he was all relaxed as they brushed his hair.

He tried to frown, but he wasn't very successful. "_I have come to see there are some advantages to being on good terms with the uniltìranyu, but that does not mean we are friends,_" he corrected her.

"_Yes, you are,_" Laneya shook her head, "_I saw the two of you laughing together like friends, and you spend time with him sitting around the fires now. You should just admit you like him._"

"_I still do not trust him,_" he shook his head, only to have it lightly swatted by their mother, who was beginning to braid, "_how can one be friends without trust?_"

"_You are friends because I say it is so,_" Laneya nodded decisively, "_and you should listen to me more because I am very wise._"

"_You are less than half my age,_" Tsu'tey snorted, "_I do not think you can call yourself "wise" just yet._"

That made her pout at him. "_Well, I may be younger than you, but I am female, which automatically makes me wiser than you. So you should listen to me more._"

Tsu'tey laughed helplessly. "_When you do not have locks of my hair in your hands I may choose to debate your wisdom or lack thereof,_" he grinned, "_perhaps. But in this I will admit you perhaps did know what you were talking about. It is good to be on better terms with Jake. If nothing else, it shows that I am tolerant of those who are odd or different._"

"_He is certainly that,_" Tamrrlìn laughed at her children, "_different, and interesting. It is a shame there are so many dangerous sawtute. The ones I have met are all fascinating, each in their own way._"

"_Fascinating in the same way that palulukan may be fascinating to watch,_" Ateyo, Tsu'tey and Laneya's father sat down to have his hair fixed next, "_and like palulukan best watched from a safe distance._"

"_Of course, ma yawne,_" Tamrrlìn leaned over to place a kiss just behind her mate's ear, "_It isn't as though I go far from the looms in any case. You have no need to worry over me._"

Father and son looked at each other, the love and exasperation they both felt for the females of their small clan clear in their eyes.

"_Even without reason, I still worry now and then,_" Ateyo smiled, "_how else would I find to keep myself occupied? Besides, I find I enjoy your attempts to reassure me._"

"_Not around the children!_" she playfully swatted him with her tail, "_We will discuss this further, but later, when the moment is better suited._"

Tsu'tey snorted but he couldn't help smiling slightly. This was what he had always wanted; what his parents had, this deep connection which showed their love even when they disagreed about something, and the affection that could be seen through every touch - even his mother's occasional swats to the back of his father's head when he'd done something she thought foolish.

* * *

Late one night a few nights after the hunt (he couldn't be sure how many, keeping track of days when in his human body was getting more and more difficult) Jake slowly drifted toward consciousness. It had to be the middle of the night, and he couldn't figure out what had woken him, since he usually slept like a log, but he could hear voices talking, and without opening his eyes, he tried to focus on them long enough to figure out what was going on.

It was Grace and Trudy, that much was easy enough to sort out, since he didn't hear Norm's deeper tones, and he had the feeling he'd missed some critical part of the conversation, because what he was hearing really wasn't making very much sense.

"So how come you're so secretive about it?" Grace was asking, "I mean, all the way out here, who's really going to care?"

"You'd be surprised," Trudy answered, and Jake could hear... resignation? ... in her voice. "There's secrets an' then there's _secrets_, as the saying goes, an' mine's a doozey. There's certain...high-up military types that might not trust somebody with my...background, you know?"

Jake frowned. This was starting to sound bad. Was Trudy some kind of traitor? Had she done something to earn a dishonourable discharge? Why else would the military types not trust her? But...but that just didn't jive. I mean, this was _Trudy_ here! She had to be one of the most rock-solid pilots - fuckit, _people_ - he knew. There was no way she'd ever have done anything bad enough to get kicked out or court-marshaled or something!

"You realize all you're doing is making me want to know more," Grace pointed out, and Jake couldn't agree more with the sentiment. Trudy was like a little sister...well okay technically given their ages a big sister but still, a sister in any case, and brothers defended their sisters to the death, no matter what they might have done!

"You damn scientists and your inquisitive minds," Trudy laughed. "All those questions are gonna get you in trouble one of these days."

"Entirely probable," Grace laughed too, "but it's more likely my foul mouth and hardass attitude is what's going to kick me in the _txìm_. Seriously, though. You don't honestly think I'd care about anything you might've done or what your background is, do you? It won't make me think less of you and I'm certainly not going to go running around Hell's Gate telling everyone I know. I have enough secrets of my own to keep safe that there's no way I'm going to jeopardize somebody else's."

"Yeah, you got a point there," Trudy admitted, "I guess I could at least give you a hint. It's actually written on the door of my baby, although Norm's the only one that's ever actually picked up on the real meaning. Everyone else just figures it's the name of a childhood friend who died tragically or some bullshit like that. He had an unfair advantage, though."

"That's pretty specific bullshit," Jake could almost hear Grace's raised eyebrow, "how would they have come to such a conclusion?"

"Probly 'cause I spread that particular bit of bullshit myself," Trudy said.

Jake was trying to remember what was on the door of Trudy's Sampson now, and he could tell Grace was doing the same.

"Would this have anything to do with Norm's Masters' thesis?" Grace asked finally, and now Jake _knew_ he was missing some vital part of the conversation.

"It does, actually," Trudy sighed, "Look, let's just say everybody knows my _taat_ - my dad, that is - or at least they've heard of him, and it's pretty likely most of the military types wouldn't trust someone raised in that...environment." From the way she stressed the last word, Jake could tell it was some kind of hint, but he still wasn't getting it. At least, not until Grace whispered a name.

"Montejo...of course. I should've known," she said, "although you must take after your mother more than your father."

"I do," Trudy admitted, "but how..."

"I met him once or twice," Grace said gently, "at botanical conferences where both of us were presenting, usually. He was a good man. I would never betray his daughter."

Their voices were fuzzing out now as Jake began to drift off again, but one thing stuck with him. He remembered the name Montejo and, more importantly, he remembered learning about the campaigns to take his guerrillas out. If Trudy had been around that growing up...well damn, he wasn't sure how she'd ever survived it! She must've been pretty little back then, too. Well, somehow she'd managed to get through that as a kid, and now she was here and he, too, would never betray her. That thought brought a smile to his face as he finally passed out again and knew no more until morning.

* * *

The time had finally come for Tom and the rest of the trading group to leave the Anurai, and as he smiled through the formal ceremony and made his goodbyes to various new friends he had made, it began to occur to him that there was one major difference between the human and Na'vi worlds that he hadn't even had a reason to think about before. Distance. Not so much that the distances between people were different, but that in order to speak to someone who lived outside your own _kelutral_, it was necessary to actually travel to see them, and that travel could take days or quite possibly even weeks. There was no calling someone up and just chatting halfway around the world, at least, not for the Na'vi. Sure, the human settlements had lots of technologies to facilitate communications, from radios for short-distance talks to superluminal communications almost real-time across the light-years back to earth (although that was prohibitively expensive and reserved only for those in charge of things, of course) but all the comms satellites in the world did nothing if the person you wanted to talk to had no way to receive that communication. As far as he knew, there wasn't even any kind of system to send letters...well, he shook his head, of course there wasn't, the Na'vi didn't possess any kind of writing system, so why on earth would there be a mail system? Come on, dumb-ass, stop making such human assumptions!

He laughed lightly as Ninat tweaked his ear. "_You are somewhere else in your mind,_" she scolded him, "_and it is almost time for us to be gone. Are there not people you want to bid kìyevame to?_"

"_Of course there are,_" he nodded, "_I was just thinking. On Earth - where we come from - it would not be such a thing, this taking-of-leave. There, it is nothing to speak to someone halfway around the world without leaving your bedroom. Here if I want to see my friends again I will have to travel for some days._"

"_Which is why you should take leave of them properly,_" she shook her head, "_tawtute are so strange. If you can speak to a person at any time you wish, how can you know the true value of their place in your life? It is only by being without a friend's wisdom for a little while that you remember how much you value it_."

"_I suppose there's something to that,_" he smiled at her and squeezed her hand, "_and you're right, I really should go say a proper "goodbye" to the folks I want to remember me._"

"_Go,_" she rubbed her thumb over his knuckles, then batted his behind with her tail, "_or you will make us all late setting out on our journey, and I am looking forward to setting up camp before night has come completely._"

"_Oh?_" he raised an eyebrow at her.

"_I find that I remember how it was in our travel nivi with great pleasure,_" she gave him an innocent look, "_and although of course it would be wrong of me to take advantage of one who has not yet passed through uniltaron and become a man..._"

"_Right,_" Tom nodded, blushing, "_I'll be back quickly then, and we can get going. I won't be the one causing any delays._"

Ninat's beautiful, tinkling laughter followed him as he jogged quickly over to where the Anurai potters were standing. He had spent the largest amount of his time here visiting with them, after all, and he didn't want to forget to pay them proper attention in his farewells. When he reached the group, Me'lina was the first to greet him, taking both his hands in hers.

"_We will miss you, ma Tom,_" she said, "_even these strange hands._" She tweaked his pinkies, "_Do not forget that you have promised to someday visit us again and bring images of the pottery of your own people. We are always happy to have more examples of different styles to borrow ideas from._"

"_I won't forget,_" he shook his head, "_I definitely won't, believe me. If there's a way to do it, I might even send those pictures ahead. Perhaps I can convince my brother who is an ikran makto to drop them by, although..._" He grinned, "_his grasp of the Na'vi language is still very small, you might have some trouble understanding what he's saying even if he's just saying "kaltxì" or something else as simple._"

"_There is no need to hurry,_" Me'lina shook her head, laughing, and Hufweya, the head potter, spoke up as well.

"_Hurrying only makes cracked pots,_" she patted his shoulder, "_I thought you had learned this among us, Tomsuuly. Remember that among the Na'vi, there is never a need to hurry, except when there is._"

Tom smiled ironically. "_I will remember,_" he agreed.

"_Now you should go make your farewells to the singers,_" Hufweya reminded him, "_I have heard the riti say that there is one among them who wishes to speak to you before you are gone._"

"_I will do that,_" Tom nodded, "_although I do not know why the riti would suggest such a thing._"

"_You will see,_" Hufweya gave him a mysterious look.

By the time Tom had travelled across the roots of the _kelutral _to where the singers were gathered making their farewells to the Omatikaya group, he was only more puzzled, rather than less. He had heard no rumours about any of the Anurai singers needing to talk to him about anything, and he'd been staying among them! What on earth could...but then again, they _were _guests here, and there was still that distance which prevented them from becoming a direct part of the rumour mill - at least on the receiving end. He was quite sure that their presence there had _started _plenty of rumours. That was, after all, how "village" gossip functioned, on Earth or Pandora. In that, at least, it seemed the Na'vi and humans were the same. Strangers got talked about, wondered about and...shall we say extrapolated upon...until they weren't there to be discussed anymore. Well, actually he was quite sure they would be discussed long after they were gone. After all, they weren't just the usual visitors from another clan, at least, he and Cathy weren't. They were the first actual avatars this clan had seen. He just hoped he'd made a good enough impression, and that the discussion he and Cathy had had with the Anurai leaders had managed to impress upon them some of the differences among the humans and some of the things which would have saved the Omatikaya a lot of grief had they known them in the beginning.

His curiosity about who wanted to speak to him was soon assuaged, as the son of the Anurai _Nawm Rolyu _approached him. "_I would speak with you before you leave, Tomsuuly,_" Zolan said, and Tom was grateful to see that he looked calm and almost apologetic. The last thing he wanted was to get into some kind of challenge right now, not because he thought he would lose - ultimately, he knew he had the major advantage in this particular rivalry - but because it would delay their departure and leave a sour taste behind among the Anurai singers who had been their hosts.

"_Of course,_" Tom nodded carefully, "_should we go some distance apart or can what you wish to say be said in company?_"

"_I have no secrets here,_" Zolan shook his head, and Tom was surprised to see a faint smile pass across the Anurai singer's countenance. "_I have been thinking upon what you said to me_."

Tom didn't need to ask _which _what he had said to Zolan, even though the two had discussed many things on a "professional" level. This could only be about Tom's confrontation over Zolan's treatment of Ninat, so he just inclined his head to show he was listening.

"_I have been thinking long about your words, and I see that you are right,_" Zolan said finally, screwing up his face in distaste. "_I do not like to think that I was so blind - I have always counted myself as an intelligent man - but Ninat and I had already spoken on the matter and I should not have seen her arrival here as a reason to hope. I am not usually so foolish, but..._" He sighed. "_My mother has reminded me that there are many reasons a young woman may join a trading party, and not all of them have to do with seeking out a mate. She came as your teacher, she even introduced you as her student, and yet I ignored that and let my mind mislead me into hoping that there could be more. She is...a woman worthy of every good thing in life,_" he said, "_and I had thought perhaps that with my position among the clan I could be the man to give those things to her, but you were right; it was wrong of me to expect that she would give up her family and everything that she has among her own clan to start again from nothing with mine._"

"_You were not wrong entirely,_" Tom shook his head, feeling magnanimous in his position as the unchallenged winner of their rivalry, "_it is not too much to ask of a woman who feels about you the way you feel about her, you just..._"

"_I just saw too much which was not there. I listened to the song of my heart alone instead of trying to hear the song of her heart as well,_" Zolan laughed ruefully, "_do not worry to offend me with the truth, Tomsuuly, I have already spoken it to myself a number of times._"

"_Then I will not tell it to you again,_" Tom smiled at him. "_Shall we say we are friends?_" He held out his hand automatically, even though he was sure Zolan wasn't familiar with the human habit of shaking hands. Still, it was a hand extended in friendship, bearing no weapon, and that much should translate across cultures.

"_We shall say it,_" Zolan nodded, "_although if I ever hear of you giving Ninat cause to be sad..._" He clasped his hand around Tom's wrist, and Tom returned the grip.

"_You won't ever hear of it,_" he said, "_although I can't promise never to make her angry._"

"_No man can ever promise that of any woman,_" Zolan laughed. "_After all, who can understand the whims of the female mind and heart? It is not even the most sublimely happy of matings which has no argument through all the years._"

"_Among our people also,_" Tom laughed, "_this is true. I think even among nantang or syaksyuk this is true. Females are simply females, and males are males._"

"_And that is why we males must agree not to let females come between us,_" Zolan squeezed his wrist, "_so that when they are unreasonable and throwing things at our heads for imagined slights, we can go to each other and drink together and hide until they are calm and sane again._"

"_Solidarity,_" Tom agreed, "_there must always be solidarity._"

"_And as a token of that solidarity,_" Zolan said quietly, "_I suggest you should get ready to depart. It looks as though your group is gathering, and a small storm is also gathering around a certain female's ears as she watches us._"

Tom glanced over his shoulder and his ears drooped slightly. "_You are right, ma tsmukan,_" he nodded, "_it would be best for me to go now, so that I avoid sleeping among the fa'li tonight and waking up covered in dung and bruises._"

Zolan blinked at that, and then laughed hard. "_I can imagine such a thing would not be a pleasant way to travel,_" he said. "_Go. I will see you again in the passing of the seasons, and I expect you to show me how happy you have made her._"

"_I will,_" Tom nodded, agreeing to both statements as he turned and jogged back over to their party.

"_You said you would not make us late,_" Ninat gave him a stern look.

"_I haven't,_" he shook his head, looking up through the leaves and branches of the Anurai's massive _Kelutral _to catch the position of the sun, "_See, we are still on time to depart._"

"_You are lucky, then,_" Ninat smiled and shook her head, "_that you are ready to go. Come, it is time to mount up._"

* * *

Their actual departure, once they were mounted up, was a quick thing, 'Anansi saying a quick blessing for Eywa's grace on their journey home, and little Kal'il and a few more of the children running after them for a little while, and then they were away and headed home. And it really had become home to Tom. Even in the short time he'd been staying among another clan, the vestiges of his human expectations and memories were becoming more and more like a dream to him, and he was coming to realize that his future, no matter what else might happen, lay among the Omatikaya and, more specifically, with the beautiful young woman who rode next to him singing softly to lighten their hearts for the journey.

* * *

Lousie smiled to herself as she watched her children play while she "grubbed in the dirt" as Taka liked to call it, preparing to transfer one of her best-growing experimental plants into a larger tub, since it had almost completely outgrown its current one. She had always loved growing things ever since she was little and she whined and cried at her own mother until she was allowed a garden of sundews to place on their kitchen windowsill. Mother had only allowed those finally because Louise had touted their fly-eating properties as a benefit. The memory made Louise laugh. She wondered what her mother would think if she knew her daughter was soon going to make her a grandmother to a blue baby with a tail. She would probably throw fifty fits!

She'd been feeling a lot better since Neytiri had suggested the morning visits to their tree of voices, although still not perfectly normal. But then, although nibbling on crackers might take away some of the nausea from pregnant human women suffering from morning sickness, that didn't take away all their symptoms either, so why should this be any different? She tried to imagine what it must be like for Na'vi women and couldn't fathom it. To be hit by random dizzy spells when balance was so vital from the first moment you woke until the last thing before going to sleep? Cathy had described the hammocks the Na'vi slept in and how acrobatic it was to get into and out of them, and the thought of having to do something like that - _and_ balance on sometimes quite narrow tree limbs dozens of meters above the ground to boot - made her dizzy just thinking about it!

The thought of having a little Na'vi baby was still mind-blowing to her, although really she didn't know why she'd been so surprised. After all, as Neytiri had pointed out, she was a mated woman, and there were certain natural consequences to such actions! She always made herself think of the baby as a Na'vi baby, rather than an avatar baby, mostly because she'd had horrible nightmares the first couple of nights after she discovered her pregnancy of giving birth to an empty, soulless little body which would have no human counterpart. Neytiri had told her that she would eventually be able to sense the baby's budding thoughts and emotions, and she couldn't wait for that first mental flutter, mostly because it would help to keep the bad thoughts at bay. For now, instead of focusing on the possible negativity, she visualized her ideal instead.

She closed her eyes briefly and pictured a little, blue, toddling child, just barely able to walk, its little tail swinging madly in an attempt to balance, giggling and trotting after the thanator children, and the mental image brought a twinge of longing to her heart. She'd never thought of herself as the "motherly" type - except perhaps toward plants - but now...well, she had three rather unusual children already, and now to have one of her own, with her own smile and Taka's gorgeous eyes... It was a truly mind-blowing thought every time.

She had finished with her transferring and was about to move on to check the next plant when a wave of dizziness hit and she was forced to sit down in between the planters before she fell over. Ugh. She wasn't sure what would be worse, these stupid random dizzy spells or human pregnancy symptoms. Honestly, both were pretty annoying, when you thought about it. She closed her eyes and rested her head in her hands, struggling to regain her equilibrium, and smiled as she felt three large, warm bodies snuggle in around her. Someone nuzzled her head out of her hands and she opened her eyes to see Sano's sweetly lovable - if slightly terrifying - face peering at her, the confusion and worry obvious in his demeanour.

"It's alright babies, Momma's just feeling a little dizzy," she reassured them, giving Sano a scratch behind the frill where she knew he loved best. She and Taka had discussed how they might explain the new baby to the littles, but they hadn't had a chance yet. Well, it looked like Daddy was just going to have to be left out of this little discussion for now.

«_Why Momma sits down? Is Momma sick?_» Louise looked over to realize that Tsuki had linked up with her, and smiled, stroking her younger daughter's head.

"No, I'm not sick," she reassured them, "I'm going to be weak for a little while, and you're going to have to help Daddy take care of me, but after a couple of seasons I will be all better again, and then you'll have someone else to keep an eye on instead."

«_Why Momma will be sick and then not-sick?_» Ama asked. The three children were all linked up together now, and the mental echoes made Louise wonder if this was what it was like to be part of a hive-mind.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't a very clear explanation, was it?" Louise shook her head. She wasn't quite sure how to explain this to the babies, but...well, she had to remind herself that even though they had the mental age of somewhere between three and five human years, they were, after all, much more intimately in tune with the rhythms of nature than any human child that age would be. It would probably be better to just explain in the clearest way she could and deal with any questions as they came up. "I'm feeling a little unwell right now because my body is changing. I have a new baby growing inside me, and my body has to adjust to taking care of two people instead of just me. After some time the new baby will be big enough to come out, and then you three will have a new little sibling."

«_When will new-brother come out to play with us?_» Sano asked sweetly, and Louise shook her head.

"He or she will come out so you can meet him in about ten months," she said, "but it will be a while before your new little sibling is big and strong enough to play with you," she warned, "you'll have to be very gentle with your new brother or sister."

«_Sano-brother is a boy, doesn't know about tiny-baby things,_» Ama's mental giggle surprised Louise a bit, «_Of course we will be careful of new-tiny-sister when she comes out, and we will protect her so nothing can hurt her until she's big enough to take down game on her own._»

«_Will be brother, not sister,_» Sano protested, «_Two girls already, one boy, I need brother, so will be brother._»

«_Will be sister,_» Ama countered, and Louise would swear if they were human Ama's tongue would have been sticking out at her brother. «_Will be sister because big-tree-momma is girl so likes make girls better._»

"It might be a brother or a sister," Louise laughed, "but there's no way to tell just yet. Until the baby is ready to come out we'll all just have to wait for the surprise."

She got a sense of resignation from all three babies, and then the three of them were running off to play again. There would have to be a lot more talks with them about what they could and couldn't do around the baby when she (or he!) arrived, of course, but there was plenty of time for that. They had months and months to prepare, after all.

* * *

The journey back to the territory of the Omatikaya was very different for Tom than the journey out had been. Oh, the days of riding were the same, and the food was pretty much the same, the cargo the _fa'li_ were carrying was different but it didn't weigh much more or less than their previous burden, and even the weather was pretty much the same as it had been on the journey out, but the nights...the nights made all the difference in the world. Where there had been an awkwardness and resignation to their closeness as they settled in to sleep there was now joy and what Tom could only think of as the deepest contentment he'd ever felt. They didn't even do much more than talk, maybe kiss a little, and snuggle, their limbs intertwining, but the sense of togetherness which came from cuddling Ninat's warm body in against his own and talking quietly until she fell asleep was a balm to his soul that he hadn't even known he needed.

He made it a point now never to fall asleep and unlink before he was sure she was fully asleep herself, as the thought of her lying there next to an unresponsive unconscious body disturbed him almost as much as it must have disturbed her those first few nights on the journey out. He linked up as early as he could, too, not wanting her to wake up to a comatose body, and although he didn't regret the lack of rest his human body was getting, he could definitely feel it every night when he unlinked and every morning when he forced himself out of his lonely, uncomfortable bunk and downed a stim-drink or three before crawling into the link pod.

This morning it had taken four stim-drinks, and Sunny, who happened to be the tech who'd drawn the short straw this week, had almost refused to link him up when she saw his massively-dilated pupils. It had taken some quick persuasion to get him in, and he'd had to promise to take a real break as soon as their party arrived home. As he watched Cathy splashing water on her face it occurred to him that he never had managed to have that discussion with her about taking a little time herself to let her body recover. If he was in...the state he was in after only a few days of particularly short sleep (on top of a couple of months of regular linking up) he could only imagine what kind of condition she was in. Although, of course, he didn't know how early she fell asleep or how late she woke. Still, he thought he'd better take the opportunity to ride alongside her at some point today and have a quiet discussion about things. The last thing he wanted was to see her sick, or, worse yet, permanently unable to link due to mental injury!

* * *

It was after lunch before he managed to get her alone, and the buzzing of tiny insects in the muggy heat was making everything seem almost dreamlike as they rode side-by-side.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," Tom said, watching Cathy out of the corner of his eye.

"Me too, actually," Cathy smiled, "but you go ahead and go first, since you brought it up."

"Okay," Tom nodded, "well, the thing is...I've been thinking about it on and off since we dropped by Site 12 on our way out, and I'm just going to come right out and say it... You need some serious unlinked time to get some proper rest. You're burning out, Cathy. I could see it in your eyes, not to mention your skin and hair, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed."

Cathy glared at him. "I know my limits," she said, "I've had my avatar for years longer than you, boyo, I'm pretty sure I'd know if I was that far gone."

"But would you do something about it soon enough?" Tom asked gently. "I'm finding it addicting enough as it is, I can only imagine that being mated means you want to spend as little time away from this body as possible..."

"You can only imagine, hmm?" she asked, and her glare shifted into a sly smile, "and how is it that you are imagining such a thing, I wonder?"

"Well, sociologically, knowing what it's like to make _tsaheylu _with another species like the _pa'li_ or those _palulukan_ children of Louise and Taka's, and then extrapolating to what it would be like to have such a direct connection to someone you love very much..."

"Ah, _sociologically_, is it?" she chuckled, "it seems to me you've been doing quite a bit of thinking on the subject. Why might that be?"

"Because it's interesting," Tom tried to look nonchalant, "but we're getting away from the topic at hand."

"No," Cathy grinned ferally at him, "we're simply moving from what you wanted to discuss to what _I_ wanted to discuss."

"Which is...?" He was almost afraid to ask. He could tell where this was going, and he honestly wasn't sure where she stood on the issue.

"Which is Ninat. Or, more specifically, you and Ninat. Together. And don't try and pull out that innocent face on me," she shook her head at him, "even though you two have tried to keep things low-key I can see what's going on."

"Look," Tom started, "I know when she first started teaching me you warned me to be careful not to lead her on or anything like that, and I swear I made every effort I could to keep things professional, I just..."

"You just couldn't keep your heart out of it," Cathy finished for him, "it's okay, I'm not one to judge in these kind of situations, after all. I can tell you're making her happy, Tom, and that she makes you happy too. I just wanted to let you know that I've got your back, whatever the fallout might be in... corporate terms."

"Thanks," Tom smiled at her, "I really appreciate that."

"And I promise, when we get home I'll take a couple of short days and catch up on my sleep if you'll do the same," Cathy gave in, "You're probably right, I could do with the extra rest."

"So could I, definitely," Tom nodded, "and I'll hold you to that. You should know that I have no problem talking to Antsu behind your back and letting him know just what exactly could happen if you _don't_ get that rest."

"Same right back at you, sneaky bastard," she stuck her tongue out at him and crossed her eyes before clucking to her _pa'li_ and riding ahead to catch up with her mate again.

Tom couldn't help but smile as he watched her go. He might have thought they could be lovers at one point in their shared past, but he had to admit, they suited as siblings (in-laws?) far better.

* * *

Something was deeply wrong, and in her dreams, Mo'at knew it. She walked along the lake beside _Kelutral_ and although nothing seemed different from any other dream at first, there was a sense in her heart of impending doom, as though a predator was crouching somewhere among the trees, readying itself to strike, or as though somewhere nearby was a mind-sick _'angtsìk _bull which would turn on her at any moment and trample her beneath its hooves.

She scented the air and gazed about, trying to figure out what was making her so uneasy, but there was nothing there...

There was...nothing! No sound! That was what was bothering her. Even if there were no other people around, as was sometimes the case when she was dreaming, there should still have been the sounds of _riti_ among the branches, or _syaksyuk_ fighting over prized pieces of fruit nearby, or the screams of _ikran_ flying overhead. Instead, the only sound she could hear was a deeply ominous groaning coming from the tree itself, as though one of the cool-season windstorms was bending its branches, although the sky overhead remained clear and calm.

And then all of a sudden, in that strange way of dreams, darkness began to descend, and the groaning grew louder. Now it almost sounded as though hundreds of voices were moaning along with the tree, and she felt leaves - or were they hands? or...ashes? - falling around her, brushing against her face and clinging with sticky lightning heat to her skin, making her eyes burn and her nose run with the smell of fire and sulfer...

Mo'at woke with a start, the sense of impending doom carrying back into the waking world. With a quiet whimper she curled closer against her mate's side, and she smiled a little as his grip tightened reflexively around her waist and one hand rubbed her hip soothingly as he mumbled something incoherent. She knew he wasn't awake - Eytukan had always been a heavy sleeper - but his familiar sleeping reaction to her movements calmed her more than the most sympathetic of listeners. Mo'at was a strong woman, she had been through many things in her life, including the loss of two children before what should have been their time, and had borne all her trials with grace and poise, but even the strongest woman was always grateful for the solace of her mate's arms every now and then.

It occurred to Mo'at as she drifted back to sleep that _toktor_ Grace had no such comfort to lean upon in her own trials with all _her _"children", and Mo'at felt immense sorrow and pity for the other woman. It was no wonder that Grace sometimes seemed cold! To be without a mate would be like walking on one leg. Mo'at could not even imagine such torment and difficulty!

* * *

It was not as difficult as Neytiri had anticipated, finding a midwife willing to fly out with her to visit the _uniltìranyu_ camp to examine Louise and help teach her what to expect now that Eywa had blessed her with a child. She had thought the older women would be leery of spending time with one of the sky people, even in a familiar-looking body, but the chance to pass on their knowledge to an expectant mother apparently trumped such concerns. Especially when Neytiri explained that for _sawtute_ women the mechanics of carrying a child were different and so Louise knew nothing of what she would be going through and how to keep both herself and her child-to-be healthy. If anything, the clan's midwives seemed to regard her as the same as a girl whose mother had died while she was still young and so had no mother to ask all the important questions of, and they were quite ready to adopt her as one of their own until her little one came.

Eventually it was decided that the youngest of the midwives, Pameyä, should be the one to fly out with Neytiri, and the two of them were bundled down with food, gifts and more good advice than Neytiri suspected Seze would be pleased to carry. She would owe her _ikran _a large meal when they got back to _Kelutral_ after this trip, for sure!

As they climbed to the _ikran_ roosts, it occurred to Neytiri that she should probably prepare Pameyä for what the _uniltìranyu_ camp would be like. Particularly the presence of Taka and Louise's _palulukan_ children. She impressed upon the midwife the importance of remaining calm, and that the children were very well-behaved - and also that their existence was not a thing known around _Kelutral_ and for now it should remain so.

Luckily Pameyä had a healthy sense of adventure and a strong mothering instinct, and she gladly agreed to reserve judgement until she had met the couple and their "children" for herself.

* * *

When they arrived at Site 12, the various introductions actually went quite a bit better than Neytiri had hoped. It seemed that the more Na'vi the children met, the more they were learning how to act non-threatening around them. She was constantly amazed at just how smart they actually were.

Pameyä spoke briefly to all of the _uniltìranyu_, even including Carlos in the discussion, since he expressed interest and a willingness to do anything he could to help, should any situations come up that he could actually help with in some way.

Soon enough, though, the males had been chased out and Neytiri had excused herself (since she was still unmated, after all, and some things ought to be spoken of only between mated women) and it was just Louise and Pameyä.

"_So, um...what can I do and not do is I guess my first question,_" Louise started a little hesitantly, "_I mean, I work with plants a lot, so are there any I should be avoiding or not touching or whatever like that, or is there anything I shouldn't eat or do..._"

"_For the most part there is little you cannot do,_" Pameyä reassured her, "_although you will need to eat much more than you have been, and more meat and teylu rather than more bread or fruits. Also, it is best to avoid coming into contact with mushrooms, and kali'weya can be very dangerous, a sting could cause you to lose the baby._"

"_Not that I particularly ever liked the thought of getting stung by one of those,_" Louise nodded. It all sounded fairly similar to what one might say to a pregnant human woman.

"_Most of what I will tell you is quite easy to understand and go along with,_" Pameyä admitted with a smile, "_after all, if the Great Mother had made childbearing too difficult and troublesome, we women would never have more than one._"

"_Do you have any children?"_ Louise asked, curious.

"_I do,_" Pameyä nodded, "_A woman does not become a midwife fully until she has borne her first child, although we train along with the healers until that time. But how could anyone try to explain or understand the changes which happen to a woman's body if she has not been through those changes herself. I have two little ones, a girl age two and a boy age five. They are very precious to me, but then, every mother says the same of her children._"

That made Louise smile. "_Except when they're being particularly naughty,_" she agreed, "_and that is only a temporary thing._"

"_Exactly,_" Pameyä agreed, "_Now, since most of the advice I will give you is easy to understand, I will start with the more unusual things you need to learn first, such as how to bring your body back into better balance. Although, of course, only time will do that completely..._"

* * *

Bailey MacCool yawned cavernously and rubbed at his eyes as he scanned through the documents his specially-designed mole program was bringing to him. The words were starting to swim together on the computer screen, and he was almost about to give up for the evening and go to bed when he came across something that woke him right up again. It seemed totally innocuous at first, just another analysis of the Omatikaya hometree and the environs around it, but there were notations next to the descriptions that were very concerning. Certain points of interest were marked as "cold", "tepid", or "warm", and a few were indicated to be "hot". It didn't make much sense, until he clued in that the "hot" points were places of particularly strong sacredness to the tribe. Bailey had been a terrorist in his time (although technically only a cyber one, and even then he preferred the term "anarchist" since he had always been against acts that would impact innocent bystanders) and he understood how a tweak of the psychology of one's "enemy" could be more vitally important in an attack than almost anything else.

He flagged the document and quickly backed it up to their "most important" folder, then he went back to read through it again. There was something about it that just didn't sit right with him at all, but he couldn't quite figure out just what it was exactly that had that sick feeling building in the pit of his stomach. He frowned and almost went back to read through it a third time, but he shook his head. As tired as he was, there was no way he was going to make heads or tails of this tonight. Better to sleep on it and let his subconscious play with it a bit, and in the morning he'd show it to Dolan and maybe one or two of the others. Maybe between the lot of them, they could figure out what it all meant.

* * *

**And there you have it, things are moving along on their expected paths, and in the next chapter we will have the most important step of all for the boys - their _uniltaron_!**

**See you all in a day or two (with any luck!)**

**But before that, you get some...**

Vocab:

_talioang _- sturmbeest - the Na'vi equivalent to bison  
_uniltìranyu _- dreamwalker, avatar  
_tawtute / sawtute_ - sky person/people  
_Sa'nok_ - Mother  
_Kelutral _- Hometree  
_nantang _- viperwolf  
_tsmukan_ - brother  
_palulukan _- thanator (yay!)  
_yawne_ - beloved  
_txìm_ - bum, behind, ass...whatever other word you want to use here XD  
_kìyevame _- farewell, see you again soon  
_nivi _- hammock  
_uniltaron _- dream hunt, the rite of passage to become a full adult member of the tribe  
_ikran makto_ - banshee rider. Yes, I know "makto" should be "maktoyu" in proper Na'vi but according to JC, "makto" is the term he likes, so...  
_kaltxì_ - hello  
_riti _- stingbat - little creature about the (comparative) size of a parrot or small bird of prey, tend to hang around in the trees a lot  
_Nawm Rolyu_ - great or high singer  
_syaksyuk _- prolemerus - those chittering monkey-like things Jake almost shoots his first trip out in the forest  
_pa'li / fa'li _- direhorse  
_tsaheylu _- the bond (yay!)  
_'angtsìk_ - hammerhead titanothere, aka big-ass hammerhead rhino-like thing!  
_ikran _- banshee  
_toktor _- doctor  
_teylu _- edible beetle grubs, a main protein staple of the Na'vi diet  
_kali'weya_ - aracnoid - scary-ass looking scorpion-like thing we're going to see a lot more of in the next chapter


	28. Chapter 27: Uniltaron

**See! I told you I could do it! A couple chapters I still want to get out by the end of the week, of course, but I'm so gonna get there...just watch!**

**I feel it's important, before this chapter gets started, to provide a small disclaimer to one bit of information contained within. I have created an animal which I am using in this chapter. Yes, I fully admit it is not a canon occupant of Pandora, and I had to fight with myself long and hard over whether I was going to actually break my rule about "making shit up" but in this case I feel it was necessary. I'll give a more complete explanation of my created animal at the end of the chapter, along with a few other bits of information people might find interesting about things that come up in this chapter, but for now, just enjoy!  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 27: Uniltaron

A couple of days later, when the trading group finally made it back to _Kelutral_, Neytiri came to a decision. She waited until Tom and Jake had run off together for a little brother-bonding time to catch up on what each other had missed while Tom had been away, and then she approached Ninat.

"_I wonder if I might speak to you about something,_" she asked her childhood friend carefully, not particularly wanting to be overheard, since the last thing she wanted to do right now was start a rumour which might not come to pass.

"_Of course,_" Ninat smiled, "_I was going to speak to my father about something but it can wait a little. You look as though this is something important. Shall we walk to the river? I suddenly have a desire to wash, after my long journey._"

"_Of course,_" Neytiri smiled, "_I can't blame you. It must be exhausting and dirty having to travel so far on a pa'li._"

That made Ninat laugh. "_You ikran aymakto have no idea!_" she said, "_Especially you. I don't think I've seen you ride a pa'li for any reason if you could take your Seze instead from the moment you bonded with her._"

"_Why ride when you can fly,_" Neytiri shrugged, "_but that is only my thinking._"

"_So, what is it you wished to speak to me about?_" Ninat asked as they reached the river's edge and she knelt down to scoop the clean, fresh water in her hands and splash it over her face and shoulders.

"_I believe that Jake is ready for uniltaron,_" Neytiri said quietly, kneeling next to her and watching her expression, "_but it would not be right for him to become a man without Tom, so I did not want to bring it up to him until I had a chance to speak with you and see if you think Tom is also ready._"

"_That is actually the very thing I was going to speak to Sempul about,_" Ninat laughed lightly, "_I do, indeed feel Tom is ready, but..._" she blushed, "_well...things have changed between us somewhat since we left on our journey, and I want to be sure I'm not assuming he's ready simply because I want him to be, for my own, selfish reasons._"

That made Neytiri laugh as well, but Ninat caught a flash of longing pass over her friend's face that was very telling. She hoped Neytiri knew what she was doing, and, more importantly, that she would listen to the words of Eywa in her heart rather than doing something she would regret forever. Whatever that was. Ninat was no _tsahìk_-trained, but she knew the old songs, and she knew what happened when a mating was forced which was not meant to be.

"_I will wait until you have spoken to Kxawn'e sempul, then,_" Neytiri agreed, "_but may I say...I hope he, too, agrees Tom is ready. Something is telling me that if all is to be well, those two must become a part of the Omatikaya, and soon._"

"_Have you spoken to your mother?_" Ninat asked.

"_Not yet,_" Neytiri shook her head, "_but you are right, I should speak to her. It is decided, then. I will speak to Sa'nok, you will speak to your father, and then we will meet back here before we go to the boys._"

"_As you say,_" Ninat nodded, throwing another scooped handful of water over her head, droplets glistening in her hair and on the feathers of the necklace she was wearing as she got to her feet again with a smile. It would be...good, if _Sempul_ agreed that Tom was ready.

* * *

As one of the many comms-ops personnel assigned to Hell's Gate, Jamie Ricketts didn't stand out...and that was entirely on purpose. Oh, sure, he had that distinctive Newfie accent that made everyone want to talk to him, if only to laugh, and he had a nice, deep voice all the ladies appreciated, especially the (few) lady pilots, but that was all easy enough to pass under the radar with, and Jamie was only too glad of that. He fit into comms so well, in fact, that few would have guessed he was ever trained as anything else. Obviously he was a former military man, but had anyone ever been asked, they would have simply assumed he'd worked comms in the military too.

They would've been dead wrong, of course, but Jamie wasn't about to correct that assumption. In point of fact, Jamie had been a highly decorated member of the PPCLI - or the "Patricias" as they were more affectionately known - and a crack shot, until the assignment that ended his sniping career for good. Which wouldn't have gotten him that dishonorable discharge, except for the fact that they figured out he'd wrecked his own shoulder to get out of the assignment. So sue him, he hadn't wanted to kill the guy in front of his kid! Seriously!

Before they'd figured that out, though, he'd been relegated to desk duty in comms, and that was the part he talked about if anybody asked him for credentials and whatnot, although of course if anybody actually looked up his service record they would've found the rest...but he'd been careful to not tweak anybody's interest enough to actually make them look, and that was good enough for him.

Still, a trained sniper, wrecked shoulder or not, is still a trained sniper, and it wasn't like he could turn his eyes off. He'd noticed the science geeks being extra sneaky lately, and he suspected they were up to something. He would've reported it, but...well... He'd never been one to go along with the kind of willy-nilly destruction the RDA was perpetrating on this moon. That had been more than half the problem with his military career. He'd go along with orders just fine when he agreed with them, but being raised on "The Rock", where history was long, he knew from his grandmother's stories just exactly how much could be screwed up with a little wanton destruction in the name of progress, and while he might not've been the type to join one of those "Environmental resistance" organizations, it didn't mean he didn't have sympathies in that direction, or that he wouldn't stand up to his "superiors" if he thought they were being jackasses.

Which was why he was currently watching the rest of the comms-ops center with circumspect attention, looking for any useful bits of information he might just be able to pass along to the geeks...without letting on it was him doing it, of course.

* * *

"_In a time long ago, and yet not that far past that it has been forgotten, there lived a young man who was not that remarkable,_" Ninat began as the clan's children began to gather around her. Word had gotten out that she was going to sing the song of the fifth Toruk Makto - the one the Omatikaya could claim as their own through blood - and even those who had heard the tale a thousand times were more than eager to hear it again, especially in Ninat's sweet voice. Even if she hadn't been next in line to become High Singer of the clan, everyone agreed her voice would have counted her as the best singer the Omatikaya had boasted in three generations.

"_Now, this man may have been ordinary in every way, but that did not mean Eywa did not have a plan in mind for him, even if he did not know what it was..._"

Jake grinned as he caught the look on his brother's face once Ninat started to sing. Tommy was so obviously entranced, and he wasn't even doing anything to hide it anymore. They hadn't exactly gone into details, but since Tommy had arrived home, Jake had definitely noticed a change in him, and most of it had to do with the pretty singer in front of them. Not that he had a problem with that, of course. Tommy deserved to be happy just as much as anyone, and Jake had known Ninat would be a good match for him ever since he'd first seen the two of them together, even if Tom the Totally Upstanding had denied it at first. But now...

His eyes drifted over to where Neytiri was sitting and his grin shifted to a rueful smile. Now he was the one being "Totally Upstanding" and didn't he wish he could get over it? He had a lot to think about in the next few days. Neytiri had told him that in her determination, he and Tom were ready for _uniltaron_, and once he'd done that, he would be a full member - an adult - of the tribe, and that came with certain benefits that he couldn't help thinking about.

"_The young man watched from his place in the bushes as the weaver-girl sang to herself and gathered grasses for her loom. He had always watched the weaver-girl from the time they were both in their mothers' arms, but he knew that her interests did not lie with him. There were many, far more deserving males whose looks made her smile, or whose humour made her laugh her sweet laugh, so why would she want anything more to do with him than to call him "tsmukan" as she always had when they played together as children. Besides, lately the riti had been telling of a budding promise between her and the strongest of the hunters, and the young man had no reason to doubt that this should be true. She deserved the best, after all._"

Yeah, Jake knew just how that was, definitely. Neytiri deserved the best, and much though he might toot his own horn now and then, he wasn't so full of himself that he didn't know what his standing was. Even if he made it through _uniltaron_ in one piece, he was still nothing more than a weird, alien dreamwalker with delusions of trying to fit in.

He found himself drawn into the story in a way he hadn't expected, though, and whether it was because of the hypnotic cadence of Ninat's voice, or whether it had more to do with the fact that he was really starting to identify with the trials and troubles of the People and, more specifically, that "ordinary young man" who was obviously destined for eventual greatness he couldn't quite tell. There was just something about the story...

* * *

Cathy yawned and streched as she sat up in the _nivi_ she shared with her mate. As Tom had asked, she was getting more rest in her human form, and she had to admit it did feel a little better when she woke up each morning, although she missed waking up with Antsu. He would have waited in their _nivi _for her to wake each morning, but she had told him in no uncertain terms that he shouldn't waste hours of time that he could be putting to better use. After all, first thing in the morning was when the little children had their lessons, and she knew he loved that part of the day most of all. She did too, of course, but for a few days she was willing to give it up while she recuperated.

Still, perhaps it was best that Antsu wasn't here this morning, since he would have asked questions about her going to see Mo'at, and she didn't want to tell him her reason until she knew whether it would make a difference or not.

She hopped up out of their _nivi_, pulled on a fresh top and settled her necklaces over it, and ran her fingers through her braids to settle them into order before heading toward the center of Hometree and the alcove where the _tsahìk_ usually spent much of her day.

"Come in, Ka'tsi," Mo'at called before she even announced her presence outside the alcove, and Cathy swallowed nervously, then stepped through the beaded curtain.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your day," she hesitated, but Mo'at shook her head.

"Sit, child," she indicated a space across from herself, "tell me, what is it that brings you to see me today?"

"I wish to..." Cathy hesitated, unsure, now that she was here, just exactly how to phrase her request, "The boys will undergo _uniltaron_ soon, and I know when I mated with Antsu both you and Eytukan said that it wasn't necessary for me to do the same, that my trip to the Anurai would prove my worth as one brought into the clan through mating, but...it just doesn't sit right with me," she shook her head, "I am glad that you accept me as Antsu's mate, but...but I would like to be a member of the clan in my own heart as well, and I cannot do that without passing through the same trial expected of every other adult."

"You wish to take _uniltaron_," Mo'at said thoughtfully, "have you spoken to your mate about this decision, Ka'tsi?"

"Not yet," Cathy admitted, "I...didn't feel I ought to bring it up until I had spoken to you first."

"Ah," Mo'at nodded slowly, "I see. And are you ready physically for _uniltaron_? It is unusual for a mated woman to take such a chance."

"I...don't see any reason why I should not be ready," Cathy hesitated slightly, "unless you think there is a reason I have not thought of..."

"You are not yet blessed by Eywa?"

"Blessed by... No!" she said quickly as she remembered her most recent talk with Louise, "No, I don't think so. I mean, I'm not having any of the signs like Louise told me about."

"Luuisì, Taka's mate, hmm?" Mo'at smiled slightly, "Neytiri mentioned to me that she is expecting their first child together. Unusually quickly after their mating, but of course Eywa chooses the time of each child when it is meant to come, and not before."

Cathy just nodded, not wanting to interrupt as Mo'at frowned thoughtfully. All of a sudden the _tsahìk_ drew her ceremonial thorn knife, piercing the back of Cathy's hand and letting the small drop of blood thus collected pass across her tongue.

"You should speak to your mate about this decision," she said finally, "but when he is in agreement, I will say you are ready to take _uniltaron_ if you still wish to do so." She smiled, then, "but speak to him soon, for your window of time to do this will swiftly close."

"_Irayo, tsahìk Mo'at,_" Cathy bowed low before standing up to go, "I will speak with him today, and come to you again when we have agreed."

* * *

Jake had a problem. Well, okay, depending on who you asked Jake had many problems, but this one was a bit different and unusual. This problem might very well not even really _be_ a problem, since there was every chance that the circumstances surrounding this problem might never come to be, and he'd long since resigned himself to that, but at the same time...well...he couldn't help but hope, and with that hope came the realization that he...well...had a problem!

Which was why, after a lot of circular thinking and arguing with himself, he ended up flying out to Site 12 the day before his _uniltaron_, ostensibly to bring them some meat and _teylu._ Neytiri had told him that they needed a supply of the grubs and didn't have one nearby, which confused him but whatever. Something was going on out there that made her have these mysterious little smiles, which were pretty damned hot, actually, but he tried not to think too much about it. He figured he could ask Taka what was up at the same time he was asking his...other questions.

Once he'd said hello to the babies and dropped off his shipment of meat, while Louise took it inside to get it into the fridge (and do something with the _teylu _which involved an old rotten log someone must had dragged over since the last time he was there) Jake approached Taka with a hesitance he hadn't felt since grade six biology.

"Look, man, can I talk to you about something?" he asked quietly, glancing around to check whether they were out of earshot of anyone who might overhear their conversation.

"Sure, what's up?" Taka asked, taking him by the arm and leading him over in the other direction, for which Jake felt a small measure of relief. At least the guy could tell this was something that needed to be private.

"I wanna know... Look, if this is too personal feel free to kick my ass, but I just... Tom'n me are gonna be doing _uniltaron_ tomorrow, I dunno if you knew, but anyway, it's got me thinking, and...well... Not that I even know for sure if it's gonna be an issue but...what's it like, doing it in this body? I mean, the equipment looks pretty similar, and it seems to work pretty similar, at least when I look at a pretty girl and all, but I just...don't wanna screw up and look like a fool or, even worse, hurt her 'cause I don't know what the fuck I'm doing," he finally managed to mangle his thoughts into some sort of coherency.

Taka blinked, and then he got the most wicked-looking grin Jake had ever seen on his face. "You want to know," he asked slowly, "what it's like to have sex as an avatar? That's a pretty big step to be contemplating, you know."

"I know, I know," Jake nodded, "and I doubt it's actually even gonna come up, I mean, why'd she ever want me in the first place, you know? But it's a training thing, you gotta be prepared for anything. Least that's the way I'm looking at it."

"Right," Taka nodded, "well, I have to warn you right off, once you have sex as an avatar you'll probably never want to do it as a human again."

"Not a problem," Jake laughed a little harshly, "it's not like the plumbing works with any kinda predictability anymore. Fuck, I can't even _feel_ it, so it's not like I'm gonna be missing anything I didn't already say "bye" to over a year ago," he shook his head.

"Oh." Taka's dots - didn't Neytiri call then _sanhì_? - brightened in the Na'vi form of a blush, "I'd forgotten about that."

"Naw, don't worry about it, man," Jake forgave him, "so...what's it like?"

"Well, you're right," Taka smiled, glancing over to where Louise was, "it's very similar to human sex, although when you add in the _tsaheylu_ it's light-years beyond the most amazing sex you've ever had in your entire life...and then some. I guess the most important thing you need to know is Na'vi girls have this...kinda built-in "no sex before mating" thing. If they get too aroused and then they don't make _tsaheylu_ they get all weepy and upset. Louise once compared it to suddenly feeling like you have an emotional black hole in the middle of your chest, and nothing you can think of in the way of happy thoughts or physical pleasure could possibly ever fill it. At that point, you either have to stop making out, or take the next step and make _tsaheylu_, then everything's alright again."

"Okay," Jake nodded, "but the sex's prettymuch the same? "insert tab A into slot B" and all that?"

"Pretty much," Taka laughed. "There are minor differences, but nothing that'll get you in trouble. I gotta warn you, though, _muntxa_ is pretty damned addictive! Even if it weren't for the bonding part, just think about how much more sensitive your avatar's senses are than your own. Just the scent of her on the breeze sometimes is enough to set me off now, although it's not nearly as bad as the week after we mated," he grinned, "That took "sex on the brain" to a whole new level!"

Jake laughed too. "Yeah, I can see how that could happen," he agreed, "I mean, even now I'm getting more and more...aware of her scent. It's weird, really." He shook his head, "but anyway, thanks for the info, man, and thanks for putting up with me asking about shit I shouldn't ask you about."

"Not a problem," Taka waved his apology off, "If I'd had someone to ask I would've taken the same advantage before Louise and I took that step. Not that I regret it in the least, but I do sure wish I'd known a bit more...especially about..." He grinned, "hey, that's an important one to know. If your awareness of her scent suddenly skyrockets after you're mated, watch out, or you'll end up like me."

"Like you?" Jake asked, confused, "how's that?"

"Expecting," Taka's grin almost split his face as he watched Louise walk down out of their avatar bunkhouse and over to the rotting log.

"Expecting? You mean she's..."

"Pregnant," Taka nodded. "That's why we needed all the extra food. The midwife told us she needs to be eating more meat, and especially _teylu_, for the baby to grow and be healthy."

"Wow. Congrats, man, seriously!" Jake thumped him on the shoulder, "how long to go?"

"About ten and a half months, they said," Taka smiled and shook his head, "it's exciting and terrifying, all at the same time, but mostly exciting. So, who's the girl you've got your eye on? Anyone I know?"

Jake shook his head. "Someone I shouldn't," he said, "and someone who shouldn't want me, either. Which is why I said it might not even be an issue at all, but I still gotta hope anyway, even if it's stupid."

"Well, good luck to you tomorrow," Taka said, "and whatever happens, it's meant to happen. That much I have learned about living in this place."

"Yeah man," Jake agreed, "I totally know what you mean. Here it's not like Earth; here there's a real...destiny."

* * *

The morning of the day before the Site 26 group was due back at Hell's Gate for their monthly meeting, Nala got a bit of a surprise when she went out for her usual morning visit to Taka's experiments...and the little "secret" he'd left her in charge of before he headed out. She knelt down beside it and linked her queue up like she often did - Taka had said it was really relaxing and that she should feel free to take advantage if she felt the need, and she definitely had - but this morning instead of merely hearing distantly echoing voices, she got a distinct sense of "someone on the other end of the line", as though she'd picked up a phone and there were crossed wires and she could hear bits of someone else's conversation.

"Um...hello?" she said out loud, sure she was being an idiot, but at the same time...

«_Hello,_» she heard a child's voice say in her mind, «_Close your eyes, tsmuke, then you can listen better._»

Nala wondered what exactly was going on, but she closed her eyes anyway. After all, it wasn't like it was going to hurt anything.

«_See? That's way better, isn't it?_»

She suddenly realized that now that her eyes were closed, she not only heard the child, she could also faintly see him in her mind's eye. The boy was sitting cross-legged in front of her, just out of reach. She was definitely sure it was a little boy, about five years old or so, and he had a big grin on his face that she couldn't help but smile right back at. "It is better," she agreed. "How are you doing this? I've never had this happen when I linked up to the tree before."

«_Usually I can only talk to Sa'nu or Sempu if they call to me,_» the boy admitted, «_but today Nawma Sa'nok let me come talk to you because I'm non-threatening. Whatever that means._»

"Oh..." Nala was more than a little stunned, "and what are you supposed to tell me?"

«_I'm supposed to tell you...wait,_» the boy hesitated, «_once I tell you what I'm supposed to tell you, then I have to go away again! And I've got lots of stuff to say. I haven't talked to anybody in ages and ages and ages! Can't we talk a little bit first?_» he asked, pouting cutely at her, his ears drooping like a sad puppy's and his tail-tip wrapping around one of his crossed ankles.

"Okay, we can talk a bit first," Nala shook her head ruefully. She'd always been a sucker for kids this age, and apparently being Na'vi only made them cuter. Those _ears_! Just _way_ too adorable! "My name's Nala, what's your name?"

«_I'm Kewat,_» he said, and like that the smile was back, «_You're pretty, Nala! And your name's pretty too. I bet someday you're going to have really pretty little girl babies! Oh, but we're not supposed to talk about babies when you haven't even met your mate yet, are we?_» he giggled.

Poor Nala was just a little floored. "Well, maybe someday that will happen," she said finally, "but I don't see it happening anytime soon. I'm a bit busy with other things, at least for now."

«_That's right, you have other things to worry about for now,_» Kewat agreed, and his little face turned sad, «_I guess I should tell you what you need to hear, but...promise me you'll ask to talk to me again sometime, maybe when you have your babies?_»

"I promise," Nala smiled gently, "so what is it that I need to know?"

«_It's time for the uniltìranyu here to find out about this utral aymokriyä,_» he said, «_Nawma Sa'nok says that if they are to make the right choices in the future, they need to understand the land better, and to do that, they need to understand the true meaning of tsaheylu. Not just to be able to link to animals or your mate, but to join with Eywa'eveng and hear her cry out with the pain she now suffers._»

"I will tell them," Nala nodded, "I'll start today and make sure all of them get a chance to share in this."

«_Good,_» Kewat said firmly, then he smiled again, «_Don't forget, when you have your babies you'll call for me and we can talk more, kefyak?_» He got to his feet and rushed over to hug her, and Nala could almost swear she felt the little arms and legs and tail wrap around her before the sense of him was gone again.

"I won't forget," she whispered, even though he was no longer there. Somewhere, she was sure he'd heard her. She opened her eyes, feeling as though everything around her was glistening with an overlaid iridescence that had carried forward from that "inner world" she had just experienced. She shook her head, and the effect faded a little, but not completely, and then she got to her feet and headed for the rest of the avatar compound. It looked like she had a job to do, although...perhaps she'd better keep little Kewat out of the explanations to her colleagues, at least for now. They would understand better if she brought it to them as a scientific experiment at first. The real explanation could come after they had Seen the way she just had.

* * *

When they got back up to Site 26 that night, after their check-in with headquarters, the mood around the table before bed was sombre, at best. Jake couldn't get Quaritch's words out of his head, but of course, it wasn't like he could talk to any of the others about what the colonel had said to him, since he hadn't said anything to Grace or Norm about his "side-mission" this whole time, and it wasn't like he could start now.

Well, maybe he could, but it would take a lot of explaining that he really didn't want to think about right now. Aw fuckit, he could talk to them about it later, after _uniltaron_ when he could actually try and make some kind of difference. Quaritch had wanted to send him home, get him on a shuttle back up to the Venture Star and back to Earth, but the thought of returning to that...that dead place had almost made him sick. He'd had to be really careful not to sneer at the man and let on about the deep attachment he'd created with the forest here, with the People. No, Quaritch wouldn't have understood, so as usual, Jake fed him what he would understand, the desire to "see things through", and that had been enough, for now, but he knew he wouldn't be able to hold the man off forever. First thing tomorrow, he decided, he was going to have a little chat with Tom and try and figure out how they might possibly salvage the situation.

* * *

The next morning, the morning of their _uniltaron_, Jake found Tom after the breakfast they didn't eat because they had been fasting since the day before, and pulled him aside.

"_I need to talk to you about something,_" he said in "twin", "_it's kindof serious._"

"_Okay, what's up?_" Tom asked, sitting down in a quiet spot and making room for Jake to sit beside him.

"_I'm worried about what Quaritch might have up his sleeve,_" Jake sighed, "_Look...when all this started, you know he'd approached me about finding out intel on the Na'vi, right? And you know I've been feeding him stuff that's mostly wrong but with some bits of truth? Like the specs he asked for about Hometree?_"

"_I remember you mentioning that, yes,_" Tom nodded, "_is it turning into a problem?_"

"_That's what I'm not sure about,_" Jake shook his head, "_when I reported in yesterday, he wanted to send me back to Earth, he said the deal had gone through fr them to fix my spine, but more to the point, I'm pretty sure he knows something's up with me being out here._"

"_You mean he might be suspecting that you're giving him false information?_" Tom asked, feeling a twinge of concern.

"_Maybe, or maybe he just thinks I'm losing myself out here,_" Jake sighed, "_which could be right, in a way. I hardly feel human anymore, Tom. Everything is starting to get backwards, like this, here, you and me sitting under Hometree talking in ten-foot-tall bodies with tails, is reality and everything that happens when I wake up from link is just some kinda bad dream._"

"_I know just what you mean,_" Tom agreed, "_honestly, I'm starting to view my human body as little more than a liability that keeps me from being as much "here" as I want to - almost __**need**__ to be._"

Jake chuckled at that, "_And by tomorrow that's only gonna get worse, isn't it?_" he said, "_but hey, man, I don't mind the thought of finally having a cool sister-in-law, especially seeing how happy she makes you._" He shook his head, "_but...man, just, I'm worried about what the colonel might do. He's sure this is gnna turn into some kinda "_shit fight_" before long, and I have a really bad feeling that he knows what he's talking about._"

"_Well, we'll just have to do everything we can to try and make sure that doesn't happen,_" Tom shook his head, "_once we're full members of the clan, hopefully they'll all listen to what we have to say. I think maybe tomorrow, you and I should speak to Eytukan about human military tactics and just what kinds of nasty sneaky things they're capable of in the name of escalating violence while still looking innocent to the folks back home._"

"_Alright,_" Jake nodded, "_it sounds like a plan!_"

* * *

"Don't worry," Tom grinned at Jake as the two prepared for their dream hunt, "it can't be any worse than the time Da gave us pituri when we were sixteen."

"True enough," Jake laughed, "and Mom's not here to freak out afterwards either. Not that there was anything _to_ freak out about anyway. It was totally cool, and it wasn't like we were doing it just for the hell of it. It was so we would know more of Da's side of things, right?"

"Right," Tom nodded. "Like Da always said, you have to give these things their proper respect, or they'll come back and bite you in the butt."

"Exactly," Jake agreed, "which is why I think we'd better shut up, since it looks like we're about to get decorated." He glanced over to where Neytiri and Ninat were heading their way, pots of white pigment in their hands.

"Looks like it," Tom grinned. "Where's Cathy anyway? I thought she was supposed to be doing this with us?"

"Ka'tsi _tsmuke _said to Antsu she did not wish to have you two males see his hands covering her skin in paint," Ninat laughed as she set her seedpod paintpot down in front of Tom, "it must be some _tawtute_ thing."

"Naw," Jake shook his head, "it's a mated couple thing, take my word for it!"

"If you say so," Neytiri laughed lightly, "now it is time for you to be quiet, I do not wish to have you make a mess of this because you speak too much." She dipped her fingers in the gloopy white paint and raised them to begin the first whorl pattern over his heart.

* * *

"_You don't have to do this,_" Antsu sighed as he drew careful lines and swirls over his mate's skin, his fingers tingling at the contact that he was struggling to keep from being a much less platonic caress. "_You are a part of the tribe already, through me. There are none here who do not acknowledge you._"

"_We've been through this,_" Cathy sighed and shook her head, "_I'm not doing uniltaron for anybody but myself. I know the others acknowledge me due to our mating, but...I do not yet acknowledge myself._"

"_I know,_" Antsu sighed, "_and I even understand, I just...worry for you. I know the chances of something truly bad happening during uniltaron are small, but still, I was without you for so very long...I do not want to face the thought of that again._" His hands stilled and he leaned forward, pressing his forehead against her still-unpainted one.

"_I will be strong, ma yawne,_" she smiled, then tilted her face a little to kiss him, "_I will be very strong and come back to you, and then no one can ever doubt me again, not even myself._"

* * *

The three candidates for _uniltaron_, painted in white swirls and appropriately serious, reflecting the seriousness of their undertaking, were led down a spiraling root to a cavern deep under the roots of _Kelutral_, and as they entered the enclosed, womb-like space, a sense of purpose came over them.

Which didn't stop Jake from leaning over to whisper to his brother "we look like aborigines, seriously, Da would've loved this."

"Shhh..." Tom shook his head, "yeah he would, but if you put images like that in my head before our little trip..."

"But we do!" Jake protested in an urgent whisper.

"If I see roos instead of a proper Pandoran animal, I'm blaming you," Tom glared, "now shut up!"

Jake shut his mouth, but he couldn't entirely hide the small smile that was replacing the full-on laughing grin he wanted. Damn, now that the suggestion was there, probably both of them were going to end up seeing roos or something stupid like that!

* * *

An echoing cascade of drumbeats began as the three reached the floor of the cavern and sat, sacred smoke passing over their bodies and helping to purify them for their journey ahead. Cathy had closed her eyes, already becoming entranced by the atmosphere, and when she felt something touch her lips the opened her mouth automatically. Mo'at said something she didn't entirely register as she placed a glowing worm onto Cathy's tongue and indicated that she should chew it.

As she was concentrating on not gagging over the sour/bitter taste of the worm, Cathy heard a low chant begin in counterpoint the drums, and before she realized what was happening, there was a sharp jolt of pain to the back of her neck, as though she'd just been plugged into a live wire and electricity was shooting up and down her spine. She swallowed convulsively, preparing to cry out, but then the world arund her started to fuzz out and she drifted peacefully down a river of sound, smells causing beautiful lights in the sky and every touch to her skin making the most sweet, delicious tastes bloom on her tongue...

* * *

"_Oh wise worm, eater of the sacred tree, bless this worthy Singer with a true vision,_" Tom heard Mo'at say as she placed a glowing worm on Cathy's tongue. While she was doing this, Eytukan opened a stone jar and reached in, pulling out a _kali'weya_, the scorpion-like stiinging aracnoid he'd read about in books and papers on Pandora but never before seen up close. He pressed it to the back of her neck, causing it to sting her, and her whole body stiffened in reaction before slumping into unconsciousness.

Mo'at caught her and laid her down on the ground, then moved to Tom. Their eyes met, and Tom thought to himself that there was...something...some connection between them that he couldn't quite explain. And then he, too, was being offered a worm to chew, and even though he knew it was coming, the sting of the _kali'weya_ burned like the flickering of delicate flames all over his skin.

As he'd said to Jake, this wasn't their first sacred trip, so the synesthesia wasn't a total surprise, but his logical mind was very quickly overwhelmed by echoes as if hundreds of thousands of people were all around him but on a slightly different plane. He couldn't see them or touch them, but he could hear them, laughing, crying, giggling, wailing in pain, whimpering in fear, moaning in the most sublime pleasure he'd ever imagined...

* * *

Jake watched the other two begin their journeys with a weird sense of detachment. He ought to be scared of the scorpion-thing. He'd always been terrified of scorpions and spiders as a kid, but somehow the mood of the room had taken over and the only thing he cared about was swaying in time with the drumbeats, the chanting of the people around him rising and falling in his ears like breathing.

He took the worm wordlessly when he was offered it, peering down at the purple-glowing specimen writhing on his tongue briefly before bringing it back into his mouth and biting down. The taste was nasty, but he hadn't expected any less, and even though he was expecting it, the scorpion-thing's sting shocked him when it came, suddenly, his body going stiff as buckets of burning icewater seemed to pour through his veins. The world around him doubled, tripled, quadrupled...

And then in a flash it was gone, and he was surrounded by multicoloured smokey fog. It whirled around him with a soft whooshing white noise like the sound of waves on a pebble beach, or the sound of your blood passing through your veins when all other sounds were gone...

* * *

At first, Cathy wasn't sure where she was. There were new sounds around her, and they sounded a little like children laughing. She looked around and found herself in a forest clearing. There wasn't anyone else there, though, so she sat down on her haunches, rested her chin on her crossed hands and waited. They should be out soon, dusk was coming on, and their midday nap had usually ended by now. They would be hungry, she thought to herself with a smile.

She felt a tug on her tail and her mouth gaped in a canine grin as she spun around to see her three cubs approaching. They were getting very good at sneaking. Soon they would be old enough to follow her and their father and uncles and cousins on their nightly hunting forays. She looked forward greatly to that day. She missed hunting with her mate, their paws biting into the ground as they ran, claws gripping the bark of trees as they climbed above their prey. But for now, she must stay with the pups. They were still too young to defend themselves, and her mate was worried for all their safety. The bad-smelling beasts encroached on their territory, and it might soon be time to take the pups from their ancestral den and flee.

Cathy, the part of herself which was human? Na'vi? slowly began to wake in the mind of the _nantang_ mother. She could hear the far-off sound of dozers, and it struck a fear deep in her heart which could have been the _nantang_ female's or hers, but was the thing which most stayed with her as she suddenly snapped back to waking deep under the roots of Hometree.

"_What did you see?_" the woman's voice asked, and Cathy realized it was Mo'at and she was back.

"_I saw nantang,_" she whispered, "_I saw nantang._"

* * *

Tom settled down in a warm, snug burrow, wrapping his tail around himself until the sounds began to fade, along with the light. Once the bioluminescence of the nighttime forest had begun to bloom in earnest he uncurled himself and climbed down from the tree he'd been sheltering in. There was something nearby - something _bad_ - and he needed to make sure it wasn't a threat to himself or his mate. He followed the scents and the ... he didn't know what else to call it but "sense" of the intruders, until he came upon an encampment of the metal people. Their stink was all-pervasive and he frowned, lowering his frilled crest in disgust. Still, bad-smell or not, he needed to make sure they weren't going to be a threat to him, or his mate and the kits she would soon bear.

He trotted along the outskirts of their encampment, checking the ground for any signs, sending out a message to the trees and plants to go dark and hide him. They seemed to have been traveling a long way in the same direction, so he continued in the direction they would be traveling. Soon a small puddle of darkness joined his own, and he rubbed his shoulder against that of his mate. She shouldn't be here, putting herself and the kits in danger, but there was little he could do to stop her.

They soon came to a grove of glowing willowy trees, and he frowned. The metal people should not disturb this place! Not the place of voices! His mate sensed his agitation and chortled soothingly to him, her sweet mews calming him down. He passed his hands over her face, delicately tracing over her crest and along her neck and back, eliciting soft purrs as she wrapped her large tail completely around his body to draw him closer.

The darkness enveloped him and then he opened his eyes and he was awake again, under the roots of _Kelutral_ and Mo'at was speaking to him.

She had to ask him what he'd seen twice, and even then he wasn't really sure what it had been. "_I was...like palulukan but small,_" he frowned, "_I do not know the name, but I made shadows..._"

"_Täftxuk,_" Mo'at said with a slight frown, "_you were täftxuk._"

* * *

Jake was flying. He almost thought he was back in his hospital dreams, except that this was even more real. He could feel the slipstreams of air passing over his wings, his feet pulled up tight to his body as he rode a thermal high into the air among the floating mountains. He was in the mood to hunt, and he turned to glide along the riverbed which defined his usual hunting grounds, his sharp eyes on the lookout for prey.

When he turned his gaze below, however, he quickly realized that something was very, very wrong. Instead of the tops of trees, he saw flickering flames, the skeletal remains of trunks clawing at the sky and ash falling like rain. Something was very, very wrong, indeed. As he glided over a lake which should have been crystal clear but was now clogged and black with ash and debris, he caught sight of his own reflection, the crimson of his wings flowing over the water like an oil slick of blood, and the deep purple of his crest looking almost bruised.

He wanted to be sick, but more than that, he wanted to make this right again, and the only way he could think of to do that was by killing those who had caused this desecration and destruction. He rose to the heights again with a shriek, winging his way with lightning speed to the hive which homed the metal creatures. He would rip them apart and eat their tender bits like candy...

Jake sat up suddenly with a deep gasp, almost choking on his own breath, the smell of the ashes from the fire which had brought the sacred smoke stinging in his eyes and making him want to throw up. He could barely hold onto himself as he struggled to get his breathing and heartbeat under control.

"_Did your spirit animal come to you?_" he heard someone ask, and blinked a few times until Eytukan's face began to come into focus. There were a bunch of faces all peering in on him, and he...he just couldn't...

Mo'at's hand against his fevered brow felt like the most soothing balm in the world as his heart began to slow again.

"It has come, hasn't it, _ma 'itan_," she said softly, then she turned back to the others. "_He is not yet ready to speak of what he saw. It will be revealed when the time is right._"

Jake slumped in relief. What he had seen was horrible, and he knew...he _knew_ that it had all been his fault. This was what would happen if Quaritch and Selfridge were not stopped.

Neytiri's hands lifted him to his feet and he wandered back up to a different level of Hometree where water and special medicines were ready for them, to help them recover fully from their journey. He sat and sipped slowly, unable to meet the eyes of those around him. Tom had been wrong. It was way more powerful than the time they'd taken pituri..._way_ more. Toruk had come to him, and he would never be the same again.

* * *

**So...what did you all think of that? Interesting chapter, kefyak? I've had bits and pieces of this in my head for months now, so it was really good to finally be able to write it all down.**

**There are questions I'm sure you all want to ask, so I'll list the most obvious ones:**

**1. who are the PPCLI? For those who aren't familiar (probably a lot of you) the PPCLI are the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, a very well-known and decorated infantry unit and an integral part of the Canadian Forces since WWI.**

**2. what is "pituri"? Pituri, just in case you wondered, is a nicotine-containing plant which was used by the aborigines of Australia, and can be a hallucinogen in high enough concentrations. It also has important antispasmodic and analgesic properties which can be beneficial medically. Feel free to do more research on it if you want.**

**3. synesthesia? WTF...? Synesthesia is really pretty cool, actually. For most of us it only comes with mind-altering substances, but for some people it's simply a part of their everyday life. In the most basic terms, synesthesia is a neurologically-based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. (straight from wiki) which means that you might be able to taste music or feel colours or even give different shades to different letters. Fascinating stuff, and _very_ trippy!**

**4. täftxuk, no, it isn't a real animal even by Avatar standards... Yes, that's right, I made it up, but at least I put some thought and planning into its creation. This is a short blurb on it, and I've got a sketch of it which I put up on my deviantart page if you go looking...**

Täftxuk: (Shadow Weaver)  
(scientific name: Felix umbraticus, common name: shadowcat) arboreal and semi-aquatic, exclusively nocturnal small predator. Close in size to a medium-sized dog or coyote on earth, equivalent size to a cat, otter or swift fox comparatively. Hexapedal, front forelimbs have four-fingered hands with opposable thumbs. Hind forelimbs have semi-webbed toes to assist in swimming. Tail is paddle-like and completely prehensile. Fringe behind the head contains sensory quills similar to palulukan. Colouring is black brindled with deep purple and blue. Can exude a pheromone which disables the bioluminescence of the plants and animals around them, creating a patch of darkness which confuses both prey and predators and for this reason are rarely seen even by the Na'vi. Täftxuk mate for life and are deeply pair-bonded and very devoted parents. Litters of four to six pups every two years or so. Their main prey are riti and fish, and they are especially fond of shellfish, which they are able to crack open using rocks. Vocalizations consist primarily of low chuckles, mews and rumbles among family members, high-pitched hunting shrieks which confuse riti, and defensive hisses and growls when cornered or during mating competition between males.

In Na'vi culture täftxuk have a similar reputation to foxes - they are seen as sly and sneaky - but are admired for their devotion to their mates and family and their high level of intelligence relative to their size. Someone who sees täftxuk during their uniltaron would be regarded as a wise friend and councillor but someone not to cross, as the wrath of täftxuk people comes from an unexpected angle in the middle of the night when almost all others have forgotten the initial offense.

**And now that all that has been dealt with and put to bed, it's time for...**

**Vocab:**

_**Kelutral**_** - Hometree**  
_**pa'li**_** - direhorse**  
_**ikran aymakto**_** - banshee riders (plural)**  
_**uniltaron**_** - dreamhunt - the rite of passage to adulthood for the Na'vi**  
_**Sempul**_** - Father**  
_**tsahìk**_** - spiritual leader of the tribe**  
_**Sa'nok**_** - Mother**  
_**Toruk Makto **_**- rider of toruk, an important central figure for the Na'vi who brought the clans together in a time of great sadness**  
_**tsmukan**_** - brother**  
_**riti **_**- stingbat**  
_**nivi **_**- hammock**  
_**Irayo**_** - Thank you**  
_**teylu**_** - edible grubs, a mainstay of the Na'vi diet**  
_**tsaheylu **_**- the (all-important) bond**  
_**muntxa **_**- mating**  
_**tsmuke**_** - sister**  
_**Sa'nu **_**- "mommy", an affectionate way of saying "_Sa'nok_"**  
_**Sempu **_**- "daddy", an affectionate way of saying "_Sempul_"**  
_**Nawma Sa'nok**_** - "Great Mother", a formal way to refer to Eywa**  
_**uniltìranyu **_**- dreamwalker, avatar**  
_**utral aymokriyä**_** - tree of voices, a sacred place where the Na'vi can go to experience the spirits of their ancestors and pray to Eywa**  
_**Eywa'eveng**_** - the Na'vi name for the moon Pandora on which they live**  
_**kefyak**_** - "right? Is it not so?" somewhat equivalent to the ubiquitous Canadian "eh?" or the Japanese "ne?" or the French "hein?"**  
_**tawtute **_**- sky person, human**  
_**yawne**_** - beloved**  
_**kali'weya**_** - aracnoid, the Na'vi equivalent to a scorpion. Its sting is used to bring on the vision state for _uniltaron_**  
_**nantang **_**- viperwolf**  
_**palulukan **_**- thanator, biiiig kitty!**  
_**täftxuk**_** - I made this from "_täftxu_" - weave, and "_uk_" - shadow, so I translate it as "shadow weaver"**  
_**'itan**_** - son**  
_**Toruk**_** - "last shadow", Great Leonopteryx, apex areal predator on Pandora  
**


	29. Chapter 28: Becoming Two of the People

**See! I'm still hard at work making sure I get these out for you on time, and I'm promising you right now that at least chapter 29 will be out before midnight tomorrow. Yes I am insane, but it's like taking off a band-aid, you gotta rip it off quick, it'll only hurt more if you linger.**

**Oh, one other thing...  
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**A little warning about this chapter before we move forward...it's sitting right on the upper end of what I'll allow myself to post here on FF(dot)net under their "M" rating. Yes, for all you innocents out there, you might want to avert your eyes at certain points. I do hope I've managed to keep things classy enough while also letting my muses run free just a little, and for those who have been (clearly impatiently) waiting to see more Jake and Neytiri, I think this chapter might make you all happy little campers!**

**Onward and Downward!

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Brotherhood Chapter 28: Becoming Two of the People

While the new clan members were recovering from their _uniltaron_, Mo'at and Eytukan sat nearby, quietly discussing the possible implications of what those spirit journeys had taught them about Cathy and the twins.

"_Ka'tsi seeing nantang is not a surprise to me,_" Eytukan shook his head, "_one might almost have stated that without her needing to go through uniltaron at all, but Tom...worries me. If he is täftxuk, then how much of what he has said can be trusted to be more than him speaking in self-interest?_"

Mo'at let a sly smile play across her face. "_I had that concern also, briefly, but then I remembered another uniltaron from a year ago... Is it not said that the only person täftxuk will protect more vigorously than himself is his mate?_"

"_Hmm... This is true,_" Eytukan nodded, "_and as well as they try to hide it, it is clear there is something between the two of them._"

"_More than clear,_" Mo'at agreed, "_I do not think we need to fear that young man. If anyone should fear him it is those who would threaten Ninat...or even attempt to hint that they might make such a threat._"

"_And what of Jhake?_" Eytukan broached the subject they had left for last since it was most difficult and contentious. "_What do you think it was that he saw?_"

"_Something that greatly disturbed him,_" Mo'at shook her head, "_and I do not believe he is one who is easy to unsettle in such a way. If I understood him better... Neytiri has been his teacher, she may have a better idea of what would put that look on his face, but I do not think even she could guess what was the cause, ultimately._"

"_It may be palulukan,_" Eytukan frowned, "_that is never a good sign, if I remember correctly._"

"_He has faced palulukan before,_" Mo'at shook her head; "_palulukan would not so upset him._" Especially given the new perspective she knew he had due to Taka's children. It occurred to her she still hadn't mentioned them to Eytukan. She ought to do that sometime soon, but the right time would come soon enough, and now was not that time.

"_Well, if not palulukan then I do not know what it might be,_" Eytukan sighed, "_we will just have to wait until he is ready, but..._"

"_But there has not been any uniltaron so difficult and unsettling in many years,_" Mo'at nodded, glancing over at the three, "_still, although I am concerned, I do not see it as a reason to deny him that which he has worked so hard for these three months._"

Eytukan simply nodded thoughtfully. They would bring the boys into the clan - they had showed their worth, after all - and the situation would be carefully monitored until he was convinced everything was under control.

* * *

Grace had been waiting in the main gathering area at the base of Hometree for what seemed like hours, waiting to hear how it had gone for the boys and Cathy. In reality it had probably been just over an hour at the most, but she had felt like a nervous parent in a hospital waiting-room, waiting to hear if her children were going to be alright after the foolish thing they'd done.

The first to emerge from the spiralling root that led down below was Cathy, followed closely by her mate, and then Tom and Jake walked up together, the paint on their bodies obscuring the usually telling small differences between them so that it was almost impossible to tell which was which.

The three of them came to stand before Mo'at and Eytukan, and the crowd that had been waiting along with Grace gathered around them. As Eytukan spoke, welcoming them as "children of the Omatikaya", Grace couldn't help choking back a tear or three. She knew it was stupid, she knew scientists were supposed to stay objective, not become a part of the thing they were studying, but at the same time, a small part of her felt...almost jealous. These three had been able to go beyond that distance and instead of being hurt by the experience as she had been, they had been gathered to the bosom of the People...had become a part of something that Grace could only watch from behind the glass, even when the glass she was hiding behind was the eyes of her own avatar.

She fleetingly wished - as she watched one after another of the Na'vi come and place their hands on the new tribe members, and then, when they could not reach them anymore, placing their hands on each others' shoulders to create a massive, interconnected web of people in an dazzling physical display of the deep interconnection of the forest - that she could have been more brave to overcome her own ingrained sense of detachment and found some way to become a part of this herself. But then she shook her head. That was foolish, and she never should have thought it. She was far too well-trained a scientist and had seen far too much in her years on this planet and back home to be naïve enough for that. Becoming a part of the People was for children like these, not for old, jaded birds like her.

* * *

As the formalities of the day were concluded and the web of People disconnected ringing with laughter and congratulations for the newly adult _uniltìranyu_, Mo'at couldn't help but smile. Tom, Jhake and Ka'tsi were quickly dragged off to get cleaned up and preparations for the party began in earnest.

"Your children have done well," she said to _toktor_ Grace, who had remained standing where she was, a slightly stunned and distant expression on her face as she looked to where they had gone.

"They have," Grace agreed, shaking her head, "but are they really my children anymore?"

"Of course they are," Mo'at smiled gently at her and set a hand upon her shoulder, "they will always be your children, no matter where their lives take them. The hardest part of being a parent has always been letting go."

"So I'm told," Grace sighed, "although I've never had reason to test the theory before now. I never had children of my own, although it wasn't for lack of trying. I just... Whether it was my fault or Earth's, I wasn't destined to carry a child long enough to bring it into the world," she shook her head.

Mo'at was surprised at this admission. She hadn't known that _toktor_ Grace had ever been mated, although she thought she remembered being told that among the _tawtute_ it wasn't always necessary to be formally mated in order to conceive - just one more strange and unsettling thing about the _tawtute_. She was curious, but she knew better than to push. The loss of a child was never an easy thing, and the loss of it before it was even born into the world even more so. She had known women who, for one reason or another, had lost pregnancies, and the mourning for those unknown children always echoed within them, even years later.

"Even if you did not bear them, they are still your children," Mo'at shook her head, "and you should be proud of them. They are far stronger than any of us thought."

* * *

Up at Site 26, Norm peeked into the link module to check on Grace and Jake again. Both their vitals were stable now, and Jake's had been stable for over an hour since the last time they had gone wonky (which Norm had figured must be related to his _uniltaron_ experience. He'd actually let them get a little more wonky than Grace had wanted him to, but it had been brief, and then they had calmed again, and the last thing Norm had wanted to do was screw up a sacred ceremony) so Norm figured everything was fine and back to normal again. The alarms, he knew, would sound if anything serious started to change, and in the meantime...

In the meantime, he and Trudy had the camp to themselves for the rest of the day, and since she'd been worried about Jake's vitals, Grace had insisted that Norm's avatar be brought back up so that he'd be close enough to hear even if he wanted to work on anything outside, which meant that he wasn't around any of his usual projects anyway, so...

"What's taking you so long, nurse-boy?" Trudy grinned at him, lounging completely nude in the corridor connecting the two modules, "did you forget I was here or something?"

"Just making sure we're not going to be interrupted," he grinned back at her, his hands moving to the hem of his shirt to start pulling it up over his head as he walked toward her, "I'd never forget you, you're pretty unforgettable, you know?"

"I try," she laughed, "I do try."

* * *

As the festivities went on around them, Mo'at felt an arm wrap around her waist.

"_Toktor Grace has gone for the evening, then?_" Eytukan asked.

"_She has,_" Mo'at nodded, "_I sent a hunter to walk with her back to their place just in case._"

"_Then our obligations as hosts for the evening are done,_" he said, "_and few will notice if we fade into the shadows._"

"_Few will notice,_" Mo'at nodded with a smile.

True to his word, Eytukan began to lead them through the press of people and away into the dimness which surrounded the base of _Kelutral_. "_You have not been sleeping well lately,_" he said to her as he drew her into a hidden alcove they both knew very well.

"_I am surprised you would notice,_" she teased, "_considering that you usually sleep so heavily that I could make tsaheylu with you in the night and you would not even wake_."

"_I noticed,_" he took her face into his hands with a smile and rubbed at the corners of her eyes with gentle thumbs, "_your eyes speak to me, even if no one else can read them._"

She sighed. His smiles had always been precious to her, more so as the years passed and his burdens increased and the smiles came more and more rarely. "_It is merely bad dreams,_" she said, "_nothing you need to worry yourself over as yet._"

"_Bad dreams, hmm?_" he nodded, "_then for tonight, let me banish them for you._"

He drew her in close, and she leaned into him with a smile. He knew her so well, this man who had once been a boy she tried to hate. She thanked Eywa for him again, as she had every day and every night for more years than she wanted to admit to, and as his hands began to smooth over her skin in a gentle massage she closed her eyes and just let herself be pampered, for once.

* * *

"_You need to relax,_" Ninat laughed as she sat down next to Tom in the singers' alcove, "_it is a time for celebration!_"

"_I know, I know,_" he smiled at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and kissing her cheek. "_And I am happy. Very happy. I'm just worried about what may be going on with the sawtute. I...saw things...in my uniltaron..._"

"_Let them wait until tomorrow,_" Ninat rubbed his shoulder. "_You are here with me tonight, you are a man of the Omatikaya now..._"

"..._and it is my duty to do everything in my power to keep the Omatikaya safe,_" he kissed her gently, "_I will be back as soon as I can. If I haven't woken by the time the small moon passes over the eye above, find Jake and tell him what's going on, but I am sure you won't need to. I just...don't trust those at _Hell's Gate_ entirely. I don't trust that they won't do something foolish in the name of _"progress"_ and I need to make sure you and everyone else are safe._"

Ninat sighed, but she knew there was no changing his mind. "_If you insist,_" she said, "_but please be careful, and come back to me soon._"

"_I will,_" he reassured her, "_I'm going to lie down here in the singers' alcove so nobody trips over me._"

"_I will wait with you then,_" she smiled, "_so that the first thing you see when you open your eyes again will be my face. And then we will have many things to discuss._"

"_We will,_" he grinned at her, "_and I promise I will give you my undivided attention for the rest of the night._"

"_You had better,_" she laughed and kissed his eyes as he closed them, "_be safe, ma yawne._"

* * *

Neytiri glanced back over her shoulder, making sure to catch Jake's eye, then darted away. She wanted to speak to him privately and she knew just the right place... She had almost come to a decision she knew she would regret, and yet... And yet she also knew it was the only decision she could make. She would ask at the _utral aymokriyä_ for the permission of the only one who mattered, and then everything would come down to him, and what he wished to do.

She could hear him close behind her and she sped up, darting away and staying just out of reach. Her heart raced. The thrill of the chase blended with all the other feelings which were building up inside her, and she giggled happily as she loped around a corner and into the sacred grove. She felt a tug on her tail and heard his carefree laughter and for a moment she could hear nothing else, although she quickly recovered and pulled away from him again.

The _kenten_ flock rose around them and he paused to enjoy them with the childlike wonder he always seemed to have for so many things that were commonplace to her - although no less beautiful for the fact that she saw them every day - and she turned back to him and took his hands with hers. "Come," she laughed, "come!"

She led him into the grove, letting go and turning once again to run her hands and arms through the trailing branches of the _utral aymokriyä_, her heart pounding in her chest at what she was contemplating.

She stopped before a tree, one of many, and gathered three fronds in her hand. "This is a place for prayers to be heard," she told him, "and sometimes answered. We call these trees "_utral aymokriyä_", the tree of voices." Making sure he was watching her, she lifted her _tswin_ to the fronds she held and made the bond, "The voices of our ancestors," she explained. He took his own _tswin_ in hand and began to bring it toward three fronds of his own with a question in his eyes, and she nodded, giving him the permission he did not need. She watched him make _tsaheylu_ and then turned away, her eyes closing.

«_Sister,_» she called out with her mind, «_Sylwanin, I have need of you._»

«_I am here, Ney-tsyìp_» she heard her sister's familiar voice, and it triggered both deep sadness and happiness of the memories they shared. «_Why do you need me? Or do I even need to ask. He is the one, isn't he?_»

«_He is,_» Neytiri admitted, «_I would never do anything which would betray you, even now, but I wish..._»

«_To take him as your mate would not be a betrayal,_» Sylwanin said firmly, «_of me, or of Tsu'tey, although it may take __**him**__ a little longer to accept that. He will be taken care of, Ney-ney, I've already arranged it. You are free. Now go, choose the one who is your destiny._»

«_Irayo, ma tsmuke,_» Neytiri smiled, and let her _tswin_ disconnect as she turned to look at Jake.

"I hear them," he said, wonder clear in his voice, and she smiled at him.

"They live, Jake," she looked around them, noting a few _atokirina'_ which had begun to approach, "within Eywa." She reached out to touch him, unable to completely resist the urge, although this must be _his _choice, ultimately. "You are Omatikaya now. You may make your bow from the wood of Hometree..." She paused, forced herself to look away, "and you may choose a woman."

She couldn't look at him, couldn't let him see the conflict on her face, couldn't bear the thought of seeing his eyes as she did this, "we have many fine women. Ninat is the best singer..." who was, of course, practically already mated to his brother, but she had to present him with those she would have chosen for him, had she not chosen the road she now walked. An _atokirina'_ danced on her fingertips as she smiled with her heart in her throat.

"Well I don't want Ninat," he chuckled, "Did you forget which twin you're talking to?"

Her smile widened as she blew the _atokirina'_ away on its path to whatever message it was meant to send. "Peyral is...a good hunter..." and a good choice for him, which he must know. This was the point which most worried her...what if he should choose to be good, to not break the bond he saw as being firm between herself and Tsu'tey, and to take Peyral as his best choice of mate. It was clear that Peyral herself would not object to the thought of that outcome...

"Yeah, she is a good hunter," he agreed, and she couldn't help but turn to look at him, to torture herself with the look of farewell which must be in his eyes...

* * *

"You're back early," Moira said to Tom as he sat up out of his link bed and swung his legs over the side. "I'd thought you would be partying all night. Going through that dream hunt deal is a pretty big thing, isn't it?"

"It is," Tom nodded, "and I plan to go right back in, but I just have this bad feeling...I wanted to check what's going on with the dozers that were heading toward Hometree. Somehow I think...something isn't right," he shook his head.

Moira glanced around them, then motioned him over to her station, holding a finger over her lips to indicate he should be quiet. It was just them in the lab, but even so...

"What is it?" he asked in a quiet whisper as he pulled up a chair and sat down next to her.

"Since you've been busy over the last little while, we've been busy as well," she said, logging into the hidden files Dolan had showed her that afternoon, "and by "we" I mean the science faculty here at Hell's gate. We've been doing a little looking into what's really going on and, well...yesterday we found this." She turned the screen toward him.

She watched his eyes scan the document, and the further down the page he got, the more he paled.

"It's...bad, isn't it?" she whispered, concern clear in her eyes.

"It's worse than you know," he gritted out, "look at where the dozers are projected to arrive. If they don't change course really soon, they're going to hit the Omatikaya's "tree of voices" grove. That's...well, imagine you had a database in which you had all the memories of your ancestors stored, where you could go and link in and hear their voices again...like a combination of a library of congress archive and a memorial." He got to his feet and before she could try to catch his arm he'd disappeared out the door.

"Shit," she whispered to herself as she quickly closed the files again and hurried after him, but he was gone. She suspected he was going to speak to someone in charge, and she wasn't sure what she should do about it, so - trying to act as casual as she could - she headed down the hall to Dolan's quarters. They needed to do some quick thinking to get everyone out of this intact, including Tom.

* * *

By the time he'd made it to Selfridge's office, Tom was fuming. He didn't know if the man was the mastermind or just complicit in this mess, but he had a lot to answer for either way. And if he was ignorant - which Tom very much doubted - maybe he could be made to see that this was all a very bad idea, and would only lead to a massive escalation in the situation between the Na'vi and the humans.

It didn't even occur to him that it was late and Selfridge probably wasn't even _in_ his office, until he'd forced his way into the main comms center only to find the office empty. Unfortunately, the rest of the office _wasn't_ empty, and it didn't take long for the heads that had turned to register his rather loud entrance.

"Well, if it isn't the Science Puke half of the Sully boys," Miles Quaritch's scarred visage looked just a little too pleased for Tom's liking. "What brings you up here instead of getting it on with some hot monkey chick, or whatever the hell it is you do all day in that blue monkey puppet of yours?"

Tom grit his teeth as he forced them into a congenial smile. His mom had always taught him not to give in to bullies, and that was exactly what this nasty piece of work was. "I need to speak to Parker Selfridge," he said simply, "and I had forgotten how late it was. It is actually fairly important, do you know where I might find him at this time of night?"

"Probably in his lounge, why don't I take you there to see him?" Quaritch smiled back, and Tom could see it was dripping with insincerity. He wasn't about to start another scene right now though, not if he had any chance at all of speaking to Selfridge and possibly defusing this situation before it was shot all to hell.

"Right," Tom nodded, then gestured, "after you."

"Oh I think we'll walk together," Quaritch said firmly.

When they reached Selfridge's personal lounge, Quaritch gestured to Tom to go through the door first, then closed it behind them and casually took up a position leaning against it.

"What are you doing here?" Selfridge frowned when he turned to see them come in.

"Sully the second here wanted to talk to you about something," Quaritch shrugged, "he was making a fuss so I figured I'd bring him here to shut him up."

"Selfridge, do you know what's going on with the dozers you have heading toward Hometree?" Tom said quickly, "The course they're on... You need to turn them. Now. Otherwise you're going to have a massive mess on your hands."

"What? I thought they were making sure they weren't heading for the river?" Selfridge looked over at Quaritch.

"It's not the river," Tom shook his head, "I don't mean a mess physically, I mean you're going to ruin all the hard work I've been doing trying to repair relations with the Omatikaya. You're about to take out their most sacred grove!"

"Well it's gotta come down at some point," Selfridge shrugged, "maybe that'll help them decide to move, you know?"

Tom's eyes went wide. "Selfridge, you have no _idea_ what you're doing!" he said frantically, "you're going to bring down a storm upon yourself that you can't even imagine."

"A storm of...what? Stone-age natives riding horses and dragons? I don't know if you've forgotten in all that time you've been playing in the mud with them, but we've got guns," Selfridge rolled his eyes.

"If you don't even care, then what the hell were you doing spending a month helping me build a new facility for the avatars to stay close to Hometree," Tom was genuinely confused.

Selfridge shrugged. "I figured it'll be easy enough to convert, and the engineers are gonna need someplace to stay while they're getting the new mine started, after all." He leered at Tom, "you've had your fun, now I get to have mine. Shouldn't you be in there making sure all those blue monkey girls you're leading on get moved out somewhere you can still...play with them?"

"You're right, I really should get back into link," Tom nodded, thinking 'and tell everyone just exactly how evil you really are.' He turned toward the door, where Quaritch was still leaning, providing a casual but complete barrier.

"Say, I've always wondered, are those blue monkey girls hot in the sack?" Selfridge asked, "Maybe I should talk the company into making me an avatar so I can go out and have some fun. God knows there's nobody worth more than one night's fun in here. Maybe I could even talk a few of your little groupies into..."

He never got to finish that thought. For Tom it was just the last straw. The temper he'd thought he'd gotten control of years ago boiled up and he turned and threw a roundhouse punch in one motion, taking Selfridge down with a firm blow to the gut. He knew Quaritch would be right there, attacking him from behind, and he tried to duck around the man and make it to the door, but it was a futile effort. His ears rang from the blow he took to the back of the head, and his hands were wrestled behind his back and bound, then he was force-marched down the hall to the brig.

As he was pushed into the room he rolled forward and got up to his feet, turning and throwing himself against the Perspex door as it was closing, but he wasn't quick enough. He heard a soft hissing sound and glanced around, unsure at first of what was going on, and then his fingers began to tingle...

His last thought as the soupy warmth of the tranq gas pulled him down into unconsciousness was worry for Ninat - his mate in his heart even if they hadn't formalized that as yet - and a swelling sense of panic.

* * *

When Tom still slept, motionless, his body empty, and the small moon had passed over the eye some time since, Ninat frowned with concern. She hadn't liked the idea of him going to confront the _sawtute_, something about the thought of it had made her instinctively nervous, and now she was wishing desperately that he'd listened to her. Something was wrong, she was sure of it.

She smoothed her fingers over his cheek, leaned over and kissed his sleeping eyes and then stood. It was time that she found Jake, as Tom had said. Although what he could do if Tom had been captured by the _sawtute_... She bit her lip. She had to trust that Tom wouldn't ask her to go to him if there was nothing he could do. She quickly scanned the party as she left the singers' alcove, but she couldn't see any sign of Jake right away. She slipped through the crowd, examining the faces of every male she passed, but none of them were Jake, and with each one who wasn't, the aching panic in her heart began to build. If Jake was no longer among those eating and drinking and celebrating the addition of three new full members of the clan, then...then what he was doing she could not intrude on, and she could only hope he would return in time to help. If Jake could not be found, then she would have to find someone else to help, only... Only she knew _toktor_ Grace had returned to the house of the _uniltìranyu_, and that was too far for Ninat to travel on her own in the night...and there was every likelihood _toktor_ Grace would have gone to sleep once she arrived there, and Ninat did not know how to work the machines that let one speak between the forest house and the place where her _sawtute_ body stayed.

Maybe Ka'tsi would know what to do. Ninat began another search, getting more panicked and frantic by the second. Faces began to blur together, smiling, happy, laughing, drinking and celebrating and immune to her fear as though she existed inside a bubble - as though she was _täftxuk_, carrying a pool of darkness and shadow around herself. She could not find Ka'tsi...she could not find Antsu... And of course she could not. Why would a mated couple remain among the bulk of the party, especially a still-reasonably-newly-mated couple? Obviously they had found somewhere quiet and private, and she would never find them.

So there was...no one who could help her. She bit her lip, fighting back tears. She had to be strong for Tom, he would not want her to be upset, and if he was just taking a little longer, if he had woken already while she was looking for help... She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Either way there was nothing she could do right now. She would have to wait until morning, when Jake would be back, and Antsu and Ka'tsi would no longer be busy. Hands clasped tightly together to hide their shaking, she crept back inside the singers' alcove and curled up around Tom's sleeping body. She would guard it for him until he returned. She would not move from this spot until he opened his eyes. She had promised that her face would be the first thing he saw, and he had promised... He had _promised_ that he would return!

She listened to the slow, steady beat of his heart and closed her eyes, the sudden exhaustion which overtook her as her panic caught up with her sending her into an uneasy sleep wracked with disturbing dreams.

* * *

"Peyral is...a good hunter," Neytiri said to him, and Jake shook his head internally, although he kept up a neutral expression. So this was the way it was going to be, was it? But was she being sincere, or was she being coy? Only one way to know for sure.

"Yeah, she is a good hunter," he agreed, and the look in her eyes as she turned to look back at him was...encouraging. 'Yeah, don't even try and play that game, girl,' he thought to himself, 'you're not nearly as good at it as I am.' He smiled at her and met her eyes. "I've already chosen... But this woman must also choose me."

The wait for her response was gut-wrenching. Jake tried to read her expression, to understand the mystery in her eyes, but he just couldn't be sure if he'd just taken a step way too far. And then she started to smile, and it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"She already has," she said, and he thought his heart had just stopped.

He reached out, almost without thinking, and took her face into his hands, leaning in and kissing her, lightly at first, and then with inevitably increasing passion. It was as if a dam had burst, and all the emotion he felt, everything that had been growing within him from the first moment he saw her leap out and take down the _nantang_ pack with her deadly swift arrows and her flashing eyes, was all coming out at once. He needed this - needed _her_ - like he'd never needed anything in his whole life. When he finally paused for breath he found his hands clutching her tightly to him and her passion-glazed eyes reflecting his own.

He leaned in to close the gap once again, but one of her hands came up and a finger pressed against his lips. His confusion must have been clear in his eyes, because she looked very amused as she reached over her shoulder and brought her queue up where he could see it. Oh yeah, that's right, _tsaheylu_ was part of mating. He'd almost forgotten, and even after Taka's warning, too. He let go of her with one hand to reach over his shoulder for his own queue and brought it up to hers, wondering what it could possibly be like to sense another person the way he sensed a horse when he rode, or Luke as they flew together.

He watched her eyes as the tendrils of their connection joined, but the sensory overload was too much and he had to close his eyes to try and recenter himself. It was like that first time he'd linked to a _pa'li_ and yet infinitely...more. He didn't just feel her breathing and heartbeat in time with his own, but her every emotion and, most strongly, the incredible love she felt for him. It was almost more than he could take.

He grasped her tightly to him and began kissing her again, his lips worshipping every inch of her face, and her arms held him just as tightly. She rubbed her jaw against his forehead and he thought to himself that such a simple touch had never felt so good as he moved his kisses to her long, graceful neck, her collarbones, and then lower, to nuzzle aside the pretty beaded necklace she was wearing and kiss and suckle at those pert little tits of hers that he'd wanted to taste for weeks now. She gasped (he could feel her surprise, she'd obviously never been touched like this and the thought made him incredibly hard) and then moaned as the tugging pleasure circulated between them.

"God, you're so beautiful," he groaned, laying her back onto the soft moss beneath the glowing trees and backing up just enough so he could see her, "so incredibly gorgeous." He lay down next to her, propping himself up on one elbow and watched her as his other hand smoothed down over her taught belly and beneath the strap of her loincloth. He was familiar enough with the garments by now to know where to look for the hidden knot that held it in place, and as he fiddled with it he suddenly became aware of a sense of amusement from her.

"Do you need help, ma Jhake?" she giggled.

"Naw," he frowned in concentration, "I got this." He managed to find the end of the knot, then and tugged it through, although he kept his hand there so the loincloth didn't fall off just yet. Her hands were busy stroking over his chest and starting to learn what made him feel good, and he thought he ought to reward her for that bit of exploration. Sliding his fingers down, he cupped her through the soft leather, rubbing gently at first, and then more firmly as their bond showed him that it felt good to her.

Her fingers tightened on his shoulders, short nails digging into his back just enough to feel so goddamned good, and when they started moving down over his back and his chest... his armour was long gone now... And then she was working her fingers around the knot of his own loincloth and every incidental brush of her fingertips against his stiffened cock felt like licks of heat.

He pushed her loincloth aside, letting it fall to the ground as his fingers continued to work against her, exploring and finding that indeed, the anatomy was quite similar enough that he wasn't going to get himself in trouble...and that she was already very, very enthusiastic about the whole process. The hand she was using to finally get rid of that loincloth he didn't know how he'd put up with began to tentatively explore, and the other moved down from where it had been resting against his lower back to grasp at the base of his tail, and...

Holy shit! Did the world just grey out there for a second? "Go easy, baby," he growled, "or this is gonna end before it's even started." How come nobody warned him about that little hot-button? He was gonna have to have words with Taka. Later. Much later.

"Does it not feel good?" she asked innocently, and he could tell she was teasing him just a little.

"Feels damn good, baby," he laughed, "but there's good and then there's too good. Here, lemme show you what I mean." He slipped a finger up into her and then rubbed with his thumb on her own little hot-button, and the way she arched into his hand was almost more than he could take.

"Please, Jhake," she whimpered, "I need..."

"I know, baby, I know," he leaned down to kiss her, then shifted overtop of her again, gently moving his hand over the one she had wrapped around him to guide the tip of his cock against her and into position, "you feel that? That's how much I need you, too." He took her hand in his and linked their fingers together, kissed her hard, and then sank into her with one long, slow glide.

Everything after that was a bit of a blur, the incredible sensory overload prettymuch frying his brain, but in was an incredible blur, and the most _right_ thing he had ever done in his life, and then...then there was the dream.

* * *

In their dream, they soared on the back of _toruk_, and the land below them wasn't the wasteland he had seen in his _uniltaron_ but the jade-green beauty that Pandora was supposed to be. He could feel her arms around him, and hear her joyous laughter in his ears, and everything was right with the world...

And then they were laughing together like children, running along the shore of a river he didn`t recognize, and he was chasing her again, trying to catch her tail, and she turned to taunt him, the sun shining on her sapphire skin where her belly grew swollen with their child...

And then they lay together on a large _nivi_, their children cuddled in between them. She was always such a pushover when it came to letting the kids get away with stuff, but then, he was too. It was a good thing they had their granny to keep them in line...

* * *

When they woke from that first, amazing mating their eyes met and she smiled up at him, and then the smile turned to a wicked grin and she flipped him onto his back. He had no complaints as he lay there and let her do whatever she wanted, and boy, did that girl of his have some wicked bits of curiosity... And then he rolled them over again...and then she...

When they were both exhausted, they dressed again and then lay spooned together, her head resting on his arm, her cute little butt pressed up against his now (finally) quiescent cock, and he buried his face into her hair and sighed deeply. "I don't want to go back there," he admitted in a whisper, "when I close my eyes this time I'll be back in my ruined body and alone again and I can't stand it."

She caught his hand with hers and placed it over her heart. "I am with you now, Jhake," she whispered, saying his name in that slightly fuzzy way that was uniquely her; that made him not want her ever to say it right, "we are mated for life."

* * *

As he lay in his link bed, Jake breathed and stared up into the darkness and tried to remember the sense of her. He sighed. "What the hell are you doing, Jake?" he asked himself out loud.

He knew what he'd done was stupid, impulsive, and was probably going to get him into more than a little trouble, but when it came right down to it...it was worth it. _She_ was worth it, and woe betide the person who tried to ever come between them, because Jake would take off their balls so fast they wouldn't even notice they were gone 'til they looked down to see the blood pooling around their ankles.

* * *

**Whew *fans self* it's getting a bit steamy in here! Honestly, I don't think much more needs to be said about that, except on, to the...**

**Vocab:**

_**uniltaron**_ **- the dream hunt, rite of passage into adulthood**  
_**nantang **_**- viperwolf**  
_**täftxuk**_** - see the last chapter, this is my creature, the shadowcat or "shadow weaver"**  
_**palulukan**_** - everybody's favourite Big Cat, Pandora style**  
_**uniltìranyu**_** - dreamwalker**  
_**toktor **_**- "doctor", English loanword**  
_**tawtute / sawtute**_** - sky person/people**  
_**Kelutral**_** - Hometree**  
_**tsaheylu **_**- the bond**  
_**yawne**_** - beloved**  
_**utral aymokriyä**_** - tree of voices**  
_**kenten **_**- fan lizard - those really cool lizards that turn into glowing discs when they're startled**  
_**tswin **_**- queue**  
_**tsyìp**_** - little...like "little Ney" for "Ney-tsyìp"**  
_**Irayo**_** - Thank you**  
_**tsmuke**_** - sister**  
_**atokirina' **_**- seed of the sacred tree**  
_**pa'li**_** - direhorse  
**


	30. Chapter 29: Mourning Dew

**Well, I said I'd get at least to chapter 29, and lo, I have done it! Of course, I'd like to make it to 30 but we'll see. I might just get it up in the next couple of days, since by and far it's ready to go, I just need to polish it and finish up some necessary scenes.**

**The title of this chapter is actually quite important. With a slight adaptation, it is the title of a song which, to me, reminds me greatly of the "Time of Great Sorrow" which is about to begin. The song is "Morning Dew" by Bonnie Dobson (although it's been covered and re-covered many times since it was first written almost 40 years ago) and even though it was written then, it is still just as relevent today as it ever was. I definitely reccommend googling it and maybe listening to it on Youtube. Any version will do, but to me, the original is still the best one.**

**Okay, deep breath, people, we're going in...  
**

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* * *

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Brotherhood Chapter 29: Mourning Dew

As Neytiri slowly drifted toward wakefulness the first thing she was aware of was the comforting warmth of Jake's arms around her. Then her ears twitched, and she became aware of a strange sound disrupting the peacefulness of the morning. Her eyes fluttered open and then all of a sudden she realized what was going on... There were _sawtute_ machines, the kind which ate the trees, and they were _close_! She slipped out of Jake's arms and got to her feet and suddenly realized just how CLOSE they were.

"Ma Jhake," she shook him, glancing over her shoulder where the machines were getting closer. "Jhake! Jhake, wake up!" she took his face in her hands, forgetting in her panic that of course he wouldn't hear her, hoping desperately that somehow the new bond they had created that night would call to him so far away and bring her back to her, "Jhake, please!"

They were getting too close! Trees fell all around them, and she had to do something! With another desperate call to him, she started tugging his inert, lifeless body out of the way, her only hope that he would wake up before they were both crushed beneath the merciless wheels of the _tawtute_ machines.

* * *

After a night of tossing and turning with nightmares, Ninat woke only to find that waking wasn't much better. Tom still lay as still as though he had been sick and would never wake again, and there was some sort of fuss going on outside. She carefully rearranged Tom's limbs so that he would stay comfortable, and with a final glance over her shoulder back to him, she headed out to see what was going on.

The sound of people's panicking was almost too loud, but her ears caught the unfamiliar grumbling of _tawtute_ machines. So close..._too_ close!

"_What is happening?_" she asked the nearest person. It was Tseo'ong, the weaver, and he looked at her wild-eyed.

"_The tawtute machines are attacking utral aymokriyä,_" he told her, "_we must do something, but what can we do?_"

The tree of voices? How could they do such a horrible thing? Now she _knew_ Tom would not wake soon. If he had suspected something like this would happen and gone into the den of the _tawtute_ to try to prevent it, for sure they must have captured him, but... She frowned, suddenly concerned. The People might not all see this as she did - might not understand that Tom was working for them, not the _tawtute_ destroyers of the forest - and in their anger and fear, they might try to do something foolish. Quickly she returned to the singers' alcove, to resume her vigil over the sleeping body of the one who would (soon, Eywa let him return soon) be her mate. As she laid down between him and the entrance, wrapping him in her arms, with a hand over his heart to sense any changes as soon as he began to wake, she couldn't help remembering her own _uniltaron_ a year previous. The small _täftxuk_ female she had been, and the desperation to protect her injured mate...and now the vision was coming to be in a way she had never thought so literally possible.

* * *

As Jake woke into his avatar he was completely ready to face a slightly grumpy Neytiri scolding him for taking so long to wake. What he wasn't ready for was the massive rush of adrenaline as he saw his mate's terror-stricken face.

"Jhake, wake up," she begged, and he wondered how long she had been pleading with his empty avatar before Grace had let him link up, "Jhake, wake up!"

He ran his hands over her shoulders and then slipped past her, a frown deep on his forehead. Did those idiots have any _idea_ what they were doing? What this would cause?

"Hey!" he called out, knowing that even though the dozers were unmanned, they had cameras linked back to the operators in the comms-ops center back at Hell's Gate, "Hey!" he waved his arms, desperately trying to get their attention, "Stop! Stop!"

At first, it seemed to be working - the dozer ground to a halt - but it was only a brief reprieve. It started up again, and his cries of "No, stop!" were useless. He hurried to Neytiri, hauling her to her feet and urging her to go, to get out of the path of destruction, his combat instincts screaming at him to get the civilian clear. Before he even thought about what he was doing he'd picked up a rock and was climbing up the outside of the massive metal beast. He'd take out its eyes; then it would _have_ to stop!

He managed to get all the cameras before the shooting started, and then he quickly ran back down. He didn't want her anywhere near if guns were getting involved!

* * *

Tom rolled over with a groan; his mouth feeling like it had been stuffed full of mouldy cotton balls and his head pounding. He couldn't figure out what was going on. It almost felt like coming out of cryo, but he wasn't weightless, and, quite frankly, cryo hadn't been this bad. He raised a shaky hand to rub his eyes, and then it all came back to him. _Uniltaron_, unlinking to talk to Selfridge, getting his ass handed to him (Mom would've whacked him upside the head for being so careless) and thrown in the brig... Damnit, he had to get out! Ninat was probably panicking! He'd said he would only be gone about half an hour, and now it was...Goddamnit he didn't even know what time it was, or even what day. They could've been keeping him down with tranq gas for days and he'd never know it.

He sat up and looked around; trying to figure out how to know how much time had passed, and rubbed the back of his hand against his cheek. Okay, only a morning's-worth of stubble, so he'd probably only been out overnight, but still... He had to get out of here and back to Ninat! He had to figure out some way to get those dozers to turn...if it wasn't already too late, that was.

* * *

Grace had linked up right after Jake, and when she woke she could tell something was wrong. There was a stillness in the forest that didn't bode well. She blessed her avatar's much better shape than her own aging body and tar-filled lungs as she practically ran the whole way from the forest house to Hometree. And when she got there, she knew. She _knew_!

'Goddamnit Miles, how could you do something like this?' she thought as she looked at the destruction. She knew it had to be him. Parker was too wilfully ignorant about the Na'vi to know that driving dozers in over the grove of the tree of voices would incite them into a fury. Miles, on the other hand...Fucking Quaritch. Stop thinking of him as "Miles", he stopped being that to her after he'd ordered his troops to shoot up her schoolhouse and kill innocent children! Fucking Quaritch was savvy enough to know exactly what this would do. Unless she could somehow calm the situation down before the inevitable escalation that would give the RDA "Just Cause" to take the Omatikaya out.

"_Ftang! Rutxe!_" she called out to them, "_This will only make things worse._"

"You do not speak here!" Tsu'tey snarled at her. Tsu'tey, who had once been her adored "problem student", never paying attention in class except when it suited him, his attention always distracted by one thing or another, always wanting to be out of his seat and _moving_, and yet picking up information and English like a little blue sponge... She'd always had a hidden soft spot for him, and he for her, she'd thought, until Sylwanin's death changed everything between them.

"Tsu'tey, don't do this!" she heard Jake's voice, and hope bloomed in her heart again, briefly. Jake was Omatikaya now, they would listen to his words, although it would be better if Tom would show up and talk to them. Tom was the statesman, after all; Jake was the warrior.

And then she caught the look on Tsu'tey's face as he strode quickly toward Jake. Who had arrived with Neytiri...

Her worst fears were confirmed with Tsu'tey's next words. "You mated with this woman?" No wonder Jake had been so eager to go through with the dream hunt, no _wonder_ she'd almost had to force-feed him this morning! She couldn't quite keep her "Oh shit!" bottled in, but then, if ever there was a situation that deserved it, this was the one.

* * *

Jake swore internally. He'd known Tsu'tey was going to be pissed about this, but on top of everything else, the timing of this was...just downright shitty.

"Brother, please," he said, trying to keep his voice calm, "do not attack the sky people. Many Omatikaya will die if you do." He thought frantically of some way to get through to Tsu'tey just how serious the situation was, but his thoughts were interrupted by a rushing wall of furious, knife-wielding warrior.

"You are not my brother!" Tsu'tey accused, and Jake, relying on instincts trained into him since childhood, caught and redirected him, throwing him to the ground as he turned to face where his attacking Omatikaya brother would be getting to his feet momentarily.

"And I am not your enemy," he said firmly, drawing his knife and throwing it to the ground, disarming himself. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Eytukan moving Neytiri out of the way and thought 'Good, keep her out of this,' as he met Tsu'tey's enraged eyes, "Your enemy is out there, and they are very powerful! I can talk to them..."

"No more talk," Tsu'tey growled and attacked again. Damnit, Jake was gonna have to take him out, and that was the last thing he wanted to do here, but...

With a few quick blows, Jake sent him to the ground. 'Just stay down, damnit,' he thought frantically, 'and listen! Please just listen, Brother...' He knew what he needed to say. He needed to remind Tsu'tey about the tactics they had discussed, about how the _tawtute_ warriors would poke a hornet's nest over and over until they were stung, then would cry foul and bring in every weapon they had to eliminate the hornets even though all the trouble was their own fault, all because they wanted the tree the hornets' nest was in.

Yes, he would remind Tsu'tey of that, but first... "I am Omatikaya," he said, looking around at the crowd, "I am one of you, and I have the right to speak." He took a deep breath, "_I have something to say, to all of you,_" he managed in Na'vi, his eyes seeking out his mate's, "the words are like stones in my heart." He tried to think of how Tommy would say this. Tommy had always been the one who did all the talking, but he wasn't here...he'd likely found somewhere last night and was still holed up there with Ninat. God, Eywa, Jake wished he was still curled up around Neytiri...

Jake watched Grace pass out and fall to the ground, and he knew he'd be next...he knew he didn't have much time. His eyes met Tsu'tey's and he spoke quickly. "Remember what I told you about the hornets' nest," he said, "about how the sky people warriors use it to..." but that was as far as he got before he was waking up to a link station and a crowd of Sec-Ops personnel - and Quaritch's ugly, scarred face.

"Are you outta your goddamned mind?" he sat up. If he'd had his working legs right now he would've been out of the bed and ripping the man's head off, superior officer or no.

The only response he got, though, was a smirk, "You crossed the line," and a right hook to the jaw. And then, for a little while, anyway, he knew no more.

* * *

Me'lina groaned as she rolled over in her _nivi_ and started to wake. Were these strange dreams every couple of months or so going to be a habit? She really hoped not. The _tsahìk_ had confirmed that the last dream had been an isolated incident, nothing to worry about, and now it had happened again? She shook herself and stretched. Maybe she should visit the grove of the _utral aymokriyä_ and ask for answers there before she troubled the _tsahìk_ again.

After quickly washing herself she headed for the grove, and once she was there she settled under a particularly favourite tree of hers and gathered its fronds to her, lifting her _tswin_ and making the connection just the same as she had many times before. What happened next, though, had never happened. Instead of the happy, laughing echoes of her ancestors, she was hit with a disorienting wave of dizziness and the echoes of screaming, crying...fear. Pure fear. She disconnected herself reflexively and staggered to her feet. Something was very wrong somewhere, and the _tsahìk_ and _olo'eyktan_ needed to know. Now.

By the time she reached the center of _Kelutral_ her panicked run had attracted probably more attention than she should have been attracting, but there was nothing she could do about that now. She continued straight to 'Anansi where she could see the _tsahìk_ standing.

"_I must speak to you,_" she panted, trying to catch her breath. She wasn't a hunter, after all; potters usually didn't have to run quite so much. "_It is very important._"

"_Come with me,_" 'Anansi placed a gentle hand on her back and led her into a private alcove among the roots. Once they were alone, she sat down and indicated Me'lina should do the same. "_Now, tell me what is troubling you so much that you ran as though palulukan was on your tail,_" she frowned.

"_This morning I had another dream,_" Me'lina started, then shook her head, "_that does not matter. I went to the utral aymokriyä to try to sort out what message my dream was telling me, and instead of the normal voices, something was wrong. I was made dizzy, and there was screaming and fear... Tsahìk, I know something must be wrong, I just __**know**__ it._"

"_It certainly sounds as though something strange may be going on,_" 'Anansi's frown deepened, "_I will investigate this myself. Come; show me exactly where you were sitting._" She got back to her feet and led them out of the alcove, then back to the grove, pausing only to find Pontep and bring him with them. If this was what she feared, then quick action would need to be taken, and both the clan's leaders would need to be involved in the decision.

When they reached the grove again, and Me'lina led them to the spot where she had been sitting, 'Anansi made _tsaheylu_ with that tree, and Pontep had to actually catch her before she fell over.

"_Something is wrong with another grove,_" she said, "_I cannot tell what it is, but the echoes of the fear which has come to it are poisoning every tree. We must find out where this poison is coming from. Until then, none are to link to the utral aymokriyä. I do not want to risk the minds and hearts of our people._"

Pontep nodded. "_I will send out hunters on ikran,_" he said, "_to all the clans within flying distance. Perhaps they might have more answers. This disturbance...worries me. I am reminded of the words of Tom and Ka'tsi when they spoke to us about the sawtute and the cruel things they are capable of._"

"_I, too, remember their words,_" 'Anansi agreed. She turned to Me'lina. "_You must speak as little about this as you can,_" she said, "_We do not want to worry the People. Do not mention the sky people's connection until we know for sure that it is the cause. There is no sense starting something without the right information._"

"_We do not start a pot with the clay for a bead,_" Me'lina nodded, "_I will say nothing about the sky people._"

* * *

"_How could you?_" Peyral hissed, grabbing Neytiri by the arm and hauling her into a more private area of _Kelutral_ where they wouldn't be interrupted.

"_How could I what? I did not take Jhake from you, he chose me,_" Neytiri shook her head, "_and I offered you as his best choice. Besides, I spoke to the only person whose permission I needed._"

"_Your mother didn't look like she knew you were planning,_" Peyral frowned, "_nor did your father, and Tsu'tey __**certainly**__ didn't seem to have been expecting this._"

"_I spoke to Sylwanin,_" Neytiri said firmly, "_and she told me it was the right thing to do._"

"_The right thing to do? Betraying your destiny as future tsahìk to the clan was the right thing?_"

"_There is nothing which says that the tsahìk and olo'eyktan must be mated, although it is common practice,_" Neytiri insisted, "_and I have known for a long time that had Tsu'tey and I attempted to mate, Eywa would have rejected the mating. I am not my sister, and even if I may be able to take her place in some ways, I cannot in every respect. Sylwanin said she has found a new mate for him, and that I was free to make my choice where I would, and so I offered others to Jhake - after all, I was not going to assume he wanted me as I wanted him - but he refused each of the very good women I suggested, and then he turned to me and told me that he had already chosen..._"

Peyral sighed. She could see the truth of the matter in Neytiri's eyes, and more than that, she could see the incredible love her friend felt for her new mate. It didn't make it any easier for her, though, having to give up the first man she had ever even begun to feel anything for.

"_I will not cause you trouble,_" Peyral said finally, "_but if you do not treasure him as the gift from Eywa that he is to you..._"

Neytiri smiled, "_I will not forget,_" she assured her friend, "_and, Tsmuke, I know there is a man out there for you. The time will come when he finds you, and then you will be glad you did not try to make Jake settle for you. To settle for one not your first choice is not what Eywa wishes for any woman._"

"_I suppose that is true,_" Peyral nodded, "_but I hope he finds me soon. Or if, indeed, he does not exist, I hope that I can spend my life well. Even if he is not mine, I do love Jake, Tsmuke, and I will stand by his side even if some here speak bad words of him right now._"

"_Thank you,_" Neytiri embraced Peyral gratefully, "_Thank you so much, my sister. I will not forget this gift you give us._"

* * *

Louise smiled over at Tsuki where the thanator cub took up a guarding position just outside her tree of voices. The littles had been taking turns walking her out here every morning. Taka said it was so she'd have someone to lean on if she got dizzy again. She was amazed at how the littles were growing - she could almost rest her hand on Tsuki's shoulder as they walked now, although that had only happened in the last week, and their teeth and claws were becoming stronger as well, all three of them could tear meat now, although they still could not crush bone, and Taka had started taking them along to shadow him on hunts, so that they could start to learn how to hunt for themselves, as they would no doubt need to do eventually. The bigger they got the more it was going to take to feed them, after all, and he could only hunt so much on his own!

Louise reached over and stroked Tsuki's tail where the cub had kept it within her reach, then sat up straight and reached for the fronds hanging closest to her. She started her deep-breathing exercises like Pämeya had taught her, and slowly raised her queue to the tree. She loved this part of the mornings, it was so relaxing, and it really did help center her for the rest of the day. She hadn't had nearly so much trouble with her balance the last few days, and the teas and especially the Unexpectedly Really Yummy _teylu_ were helping her feel better as well.

The moment her queue touched the branches this morning, though, she was hit with a roiling sense of disorientation, like she'd been thrown inside a mirrored room that was spinning, and the nausea that accompanied it had her hunched over and bringing up everything she'd eaten this morning...and possibly yesterday and the day before. God, she felt wretched! She tried to get to her feet, and Tsuki had to rush over to catch her before the fell on her face, the cub's forelimbs pressing her back down ever-so-careful of her claws on her foster-mother's skin.

Louise felt another wave of nausea roll over her, and she curled up into a ball, trying to fight it down. Such violent heaves couldn't be good for the baby! She was frightened and wished she'd remembered to put a throat mic on this morning, but Taka wasn't going out hunting, and she usually didn't need to worry about keeping in touch with the rest of Site 12 for any other reason than his hunting trips, so she hadn't bothered. After this she was going to always take one, she thought firmly to herself.

Tsuki's concerned face nuzzled against hers, and she made the sound Louise had come to know meant she wanted to know what was wrong, although she didn't try and make _tsaheylu_. It was like she knew that the disorientation of the bond would only make Louise feel worse...which she probably did. The littles were smart cookies, after all!

"Go get Daddy for me," she told Tsuki, "hurry! Please!" She figured that was a simple enough request that Tsuki wouldn't need _tsaheylu_ to understand it, and she was proven right when the cub nudged her once more, making her "reassuring" noise, then nodded, turned and dashed away at a flat-out run. Louise stayed lying on her side, curled up, desperately concentrating on her deep breathing exercises and trying to calm her mind and body down again.

* * *

Taka was playing "fetch" with the other two cubs when Tsuki came running back, and the sight of her in such a hurry and without Louise caused a cold knot of fear to clench in his chest.

"What's wrong?" he asked as she skidded to a stop in front of him, and he knelt and held his queue out to her quickly.

«_Momma sick,_» Tsuki said, «_made bond with tree then made sick-up! Curled up like sleeping! Momma said get Daddy quick so I ran and ran and ran so quick!_»

"You were very good," Taka reassured her, stroking her forehead soothingly, "Get the other two and start back to her, I'll follow with the medicine."

She nodded and ran over to the others, and then all three cubs took off running for the tree, and Taka, once he'd quickly ducked into their sleeping quarters, wasn't far behind them.

* * *

When he made it to the tree, Louise was sitting up a little, her back resting against Sano's body and the girls lying on either side of her, nuzzling her supportively.

"What happened?" Taka asked, quickly feeling her forehead and looking into her eyes. She wasn't showing any signs of fever - a thing that the midwife had warned him could happen to women in early pregnancy if they were going to lose the baby - but she did look pale and unwell.

"It was so weird," Louise shuddered, "the tree...it was like being in some kinda nasty feedback loop instead of the usual, peaceful linking." She shook her head slowly, "like being in a gyroscope in freefall...I can't explain it. And there was so much fear... It was just too much."

He frowned, "Tsuki-chan said you threw up?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "but I think it was just because the disorientation made my vertigo worse."

"Well we can't have that happening again," Taka dug around in the pack he'd grabbed, "here, I brought some of those leaves the midwife left for you to chew if you were feeling too dizzy or nauseous."

"Thanks," she smiled weakly at him and took the leaves, biting down a couple of times and then tucking them into her cheek the way she'd been taught. The soft, minty flavour immediately made her feel better, if for no other reason than because it washed away the sick taste from her mouth. "I'll be okay now, but I'm worried about the tree. Why would it do something like that?"

"Obviously something is going on," Taka said, "and we'll investigate it just as soon as I'm sure you're well, which means when you feel well enough to stand up and walk home where you can lie down and rest. No hurry," he put a hand on her shoulder to stop her from trying to sit up further, "take your time. There's absolutely nothing we have to do today that can't wait an hour or three."

She let herself lean back again and Sano nuzzled her shoulder encouragingly, trying to let her know he didn't mind being leaned on a little while longer. Taka kept a slight smile on his face, but inside he was worried, and not just about the immediate trouble this morning. If something bad was going on with the trees, it could only be the RDA behind it (well, of course there was always the remote possibility of some other reason, but he was pretty sure the principle of Occam's Razor applied here - the simple answer is always the best one) and if the RDA was making some kind of major move, there was a chance they might get recalled back to the base, and right now, moving Louise back there where her pregnancy could be discovered...wasn't an option to him. Of course, there was also the chance that because they were off in the boonies, as it were, they would be forgotten in the turmoil. He really hoped that would be what happened, but he wasn't about to just assume the outcome would be so good.

Very quietly, Taka began to formulate a plan to keep his family safe.

* * *

Flying in a steep dive on Eampin, his _ikran_, Tsu'tey couldn't remember the last time he'd been so glad to kill something. Well, perhaps he could remember one instance where killing had been pleasure, but he did not want to remember that time. At least the smoke and the screams of men dying and _ikran_ diving kept him from thinking too much about this morning.

He released his bowstring and the last of the _tawtute_ warriors fell, his body pierced by an arrow that looked amusingly large in comparison. He wasn't sure what upset him more, the thought that Neytiri had betrayed him, or that Jake had. He had thought the two of them were becoming friends, and did not friends respect the claims of their friends upon a woman? It was only made worse because there was no way, now, for him to speak to the one he most wanted to - the only one who could really console him and perhaps explain what had happened.

Tsu'tey had always been a simple man, he'd never seen the need for things to be elaborate and embellished...that had always been Sylwanin's place, to show him the reasons for the complicated things, and make him appreciate them because _she_ loved them...and now she was gone, in a much more total fashion than even her death had brought.

With an angry whoop he rocketed skyward again, Eampin echoing his rider's fury with an ear-shattering scream of his own, and he watched as the first of the flaming torches were thrown toward the massive monsters. Once again, these tree-eating creations of the _tawtute_ had destroyed his love, and he would not stand for it! He would make these ones pay, and then he would find a way to make the rest of them pay, and unless he was given a very good reason, that payment would start with the _skxawng_.

* * *

Once Grace, Jake and Norm had been deposited in the biolab by their military escort and left alone with the news that all scientific endeavours were on hold for the foreseeable future until this "mess with the natives" was sorted out, Max took his chance.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked the fuming Grace quietly. He didn't want to piss her off even further, but she needed to know what their little spy network had found, and, more important, she needed to know that it existed and stood ready to help her, no matter what that meant.

"What could you possibly need, Max?" she frowned at him.

"To talk about something," he said, glancing around the room, "somewhere without so many eyes." Even if most of those eyes belonged to folks who were in on things, he didn't want to chance blowing their cover when it was more important than ever.

"Well it's not like I have anything better to do," Grace shrugged, "why don't we talk in my office?"

"Perfect," Max nodded, stepping back. "Lead the way."

Grace rolled her eyes as she got to her feet, then strode, her irritation clear, into her office. Max followed, and closed the door behind him.

"Okay, now what's up with all the cloak and dagger bullshit?" Grace turned to look at him as the door clicked shut.

"We've been noticing what's been going on with the corporate and military types," Max said, "and for the past month, the science team has been doing what scientists do best...gathering information."

"Who's "we", first of all," Grace asked, "and what kind of information are we talking about?"

"The "we" is the science team and the avatar techs," Max said, "along with all the drivers, and the information, well...that' where things get interesting. Did you know the MacCool boys used to be hackers for the Fianna Nua?"

"I had no idea," Grace admitted, but her raised eyebrow and the way she was leaning forward slightly in her chair spoke louder than words to Max to tell him she was interested.

"Well, considering they got out without being caught, neither does anybody else," Max allowed a small grin, "and they've been doing some incredible work. They now have capture programs running in the background of both Selfridge and Quaritch's computers, funnelling everything they do into a secure hidden file in the biolab."

"Have you got anything useful?" Grace asked, her interest more than clear, now.

"Well, poor Bailey is kicking himself, because he actually had all the information to predict this morning's mess with the dozers, only he didn't put it together," Max sighed, "but we've got various bits of information, including vidfiles Quaritch kept of the attack on the school, all of which could be VERY inflammatory if we can get them sent off to Earth in a secure transmission. Dolan says they still have some guerrilla media connections he could send things to, and if the press gets too bad at home, the RDA may be pressured into making changes, if for no other reason than to keep the UN off their backs. There's no way they'd want to risk sanctions."

Grace nodded thoughtfully. "Max," she said finally, "I have something to ask you, and you don't have to answer right now, but I want you to think about it. If it comes to war between the Na'vi and the RDA...what would you do?"

"Do you think they'll actually..."

Grace cut him off with a sharp shake of her head. "Don't answer now," she said, "think about it, and tell me later."

* * *

Antsu and Cathy crouched in the far corner of the singers' alcove, discussing the day's events in quiet voices. Ninat had allowed them in, but she was wildly protective of Tom's sleeping avatar, and would let no one close who wasn't family. Antsu had offered to move him, but she was having none of it, and clung fiercely to him when anyone tried to touch him.

"_I'm worried about you,_" Antsu ran his fingers over Cathy's hair, "_although you are my mate and a full member of the clan, in their anger people may forget... I would feel better if you were somewhere safe until this trouble has been dealt with._"

"_I'm not going to just run off and leave you and everyone else in danger!_" Cathy shook her head firmly, "_Antsu, I won't be parted from you. We spent three years apart because of the company's stupidity, I won't let them come between us again._"

"_Then I will go with you,_" he said, "_it's not as though I'm any kind of a fighter in any case._"

"_There are many who aren't fighters,_" Cathy agreed, then she gripped his arm, hard. "_Antsu, the tawtute warriors will not stop simply because the one who faces them is not a warrior. We have both seen this before, you know it to be true! We must find some way to convince Eytukan to at least evacuate the women and children._"

"_But where would they go?_" he asked, "_It isn't as though we can simply send children out into the woods and they will be safe._"

"_The forest house,_" Cathy said, "_it's on the opposite side of Hometree from the dozers. The children could be kept safe there until the battle is over. They will come in force, Antsu, I know the ways of the people of my birth, and they will see our revenge on their machines as more than reason enough to come at us with all their strength._"

"_Come,_" he rubbed her shoulder and then let his hand gently brush over the woven armlet that covered her ragged scar, "_we should speak to Eytukan and Mo'at before it is too late._"

* * *

As she listened to the briefing, Trudy shifted nervously from foot to foot, trying to make it look like she was just antsy to get going. Sure, the pictures of the destruction that had been done to the dozers were compelling, but for her, the loss of human life wasn't the thing that bothered her. Those were dumb grunts who'd gone into things knowing they were going to piss off the natives and hadn't refused their orders. It was war; they deserved what they got. The thing that bothered her in the pictures was the track of destruction the dozers caused. She remembered only too well what it had been like to live in a forest at constant threat of being evicted by giant, yellow machines that ate trees for breakfast and wouldn't even consider a person a light snack. Even as young as she had been, she remembered what it was like, and now a whole bunch of new kids were going through the same thing. She remembered Tamrrlìn the weaver and her little daughter (who was almost as big as Trudy herself, but we're talking comparatively here) who had been so sweetly cute when she met them at Jake's party at Hometree...

"Alright, you flyboys've got your orders!" Quaritch barked out, "Be in the hanger in fifteen minutes. We're rolling this thing, and those little blue monkeys ain't gonna know what hit'em."

There was a chorus of "Hell yeah"s and "Sir, yes sir!"s and then the assembled pilots and gun crews scattered to change and prepare all the last-minute things they needed to do before they headed out to take down a "pesky little problem", as Quaritch had put it.

Trudy headed for her room, at first, but once she was out of the way of the crowd she slowed slightly, taking off a shoe as if she'd gotten a stone in it, and when she put it back on she was running in a different direction entirely. Grace needed to know this, and she needed to know it NOW.

The biolab was filled with techs buzzing around like useless, disaffected bees when she arrived, and her combat boots rang on the metal floor. "Quaritch is rollin' the gunships!" she called out even before she stopped running, "he's gonna hit Hometree!"

She saw Grace get to her feet, and her eyes caught Norm's and a thousand words were spoken between them in an instant, and then she turned and ran in the other direction, back to follow orders. She couldn't let herself be suspected as a traitor, not when there was nothing she could do on her own to stop this mess. She was just glad she'd made a few...special alterations of her own to her Baby after evacuating the bleeding avatars from Grace's school three years ago. At least if things got way out of hand, she had an exit strategy ready.

* * *

Tom frowned as he saw the crowd of sec-ops personnel walk into the brig. He wasn't sure exactly what they were planning, but the fact that there were six of them didn't bode particularly well for him. When Quaritch walked in behind them, parting the crowd like his own little version of the Red Sea, Tom _knew _it was going to be bad.

He moved away from the door until his back was against the far wall, giving himself as much room to manoeuvre as he could while at the same time making sure nobody could get the jump on him, but he was still sluggish from the gas, and his body was atrophied from spending so much time in link, especially in the last month, so it didn't take them long to subdue him and get binding straps on his wrists.

"Come on, _Doctor_ Sully," Quaritch grinned at him, "We're going for a little plane ride. It's about time you had a firm dose of reality, and I'm just the doc to give it to you."

Tom pulled all his rage into the center of himself, the way Mom had taught them when they were little, and forced himself to radiate calm. It wouldn't do him any good to try and fight right now, they'd just knock him on the head again and there wouldn't be any advantage. When he was out somewhere he had a chance of getting away, though? Best to save his strength for when it really mattered. He could tell something bad was going down. If Quaritch looked pleased about it, it couldn't be a good thing, after all, and this wasn't the body he could be most effective in.

He closed his eyes briefly as they forced an exopack over his face and marched him out into the hanger where it seemed like every single aircraft was being prepped for flight. This was worse than bad...this was a disaster. 'God, Eywa, anyone who's listening,' he whispered in the depths of his soul, 'please just keep Ninat safe!'

* * *

As Parker shut the lid on his link pod, Jake fumed. He needed to get this sorted out, but more than that, he really needed Tom with them to help. Parker's response when he suggested that, though, was... Well, "If you think I'm letting that crazy, tree-hugging brother of yours take another swing at me, you're nuts," Parker had said, "Besides, he's not here anyway. Quaritch thought he ought to see things from a different perspective, said it might teach him a thing or two."

Jake wasn't quite sure what that meant, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good. He couldn't help but feel a little proud of Tom when he thought of his usually-peaceful brother taking a shot at the corporate dick, though. Mom would've loved to have seen that!

He woke up in a cramped little nook in the trunk of Hometree, and the moment his eyes opened, Neytiri turned around to peer inside.

"You slept for so long we feared you would not wake," she said, "like Tom... Ninat is frantic. Will he wake now as well?"

"No," Jake sighed, shaking his head, "Tom's being held captive by the leader of the _tawtute_ warriors, we couldn't get him free."

"Poor Ninat," Neytiri bit her lip, "she will let none near him. Maybe you could speak to her?"

"I'll try," Jake nodded, "but first I _have_ to talk to your parents. The sky people are coming, Neytiri, and it's going to be BAD."

She took him by the hand and helped him up, then led him down to the center of Hometree, under the looming skull of _toruk_ where the leaders and warriors sat, making their plans. Grace was right behind them, and he was glad of her support, another voice added to his, who understood what the humans were capable of.

"_Eytukan, I have something to say,_" he started, and when Eytukan indicated he should speak the words started pouring out of his mouth. If he'd had a chance to think about it he would've been pretty damned impressed he was able to put together that much coherent Na'vi, but... "_A great evil is upon us. The sky people are coming to destroy Hometree..._" He glanced around at the crowd. "_They are coming,_" he said, "_they are coming!_"

He could hear the muttering begin, and he turned to Neytiri. "Tell them they're gonna be here soon," he begged, then he turned back to Eytukan and Mo'at, "You have to leave, or you're gonna die!"

He saw Mo'at glance at Eytukan, and then back to him. "Are you certain of this?" she asked, and before he could nod and continue, Cathy came forward from the crowd, her mate close at her side.

"It is the way of the _tawtute_," she confirmed, "if nothing else you should evacuate the children as we have spoken about. We can take them to the forest house where they will be safe."

"_How is it you seem to know so much of the plans of these sawtute?_" Eytukan asked, and Jake took a deep breath, very unsure of how this revelation was going to be taken, but sure that he had to be completely forthright.

"Look," he said, "At first, they sent me here to learn your ways, so that if it came to this I would be here and could bring you this message and you would believe me."

"What are you saying, Jhake?" Neytiri took his arm and looked into his eyes, "you knew this would happen?"

"I knew it could," he admitted, barely able to meet the deep sadness in her eyes, "Look, at first it was just orders, and then everything changed. Okay? I fell in love. With the forest, with the Omatikaya people..." He could see the sadness begin to be eclipsed by anger as he had not seen in her eyes since that first day, and his heart sank. After all they had shared, did she still not understand? "...with you..."

"I trusted you..." she groaned, and he knew he was hooped.

"...with you," he repeated, trying to get through her grief and anger to the bond between them, trying to get her to SEE. He took her arms in his hands, trying to pull her against him, and she pulled away.

"I _trusted_ you!" she screamed, pulling away again as he once again tried to hold her.

"Trust me now, please!" he begged, and even though he could see the conflict in her eyes, the anger was still winning as she continued to scream at him, insisting that he was _not_ one of the people.

"We tried to stop them!" Grace interjected, and Neytiri spun to look at her.

"Not good enough!" she shook her head.

"_Ma 'ite,_" Mo'at stepped in, then, placing a calming hand on Neytiri's shoulder, "_now is not the time._"

"_Bind them,_" Eytukan ordered, and Jake knew he'd failed. All he could do now was call out to the people to leave, and hope that at least some would listen.

He and Grace were quickly bound and taken to the shore of the lake, in plain view from the air, where a frame was quickly constructed to hold them captive. As they were wrestled into position within it, Jake could feel his heart sinking in his chest, but then...

"Wait!" Mo'at held up her hand, "I wish to know one thing only, before a final decision is made. Jhakesuuly, in your _uniltaron_, what is the animal which you saw? And I will know if you speak that which is not true."

Jake took a deep breath, not daring to look at the still-fuming Neytiri. His mate, Neytiri, who still didn't entirely trust him despite what they had shared through _tsaheylu_... "_Toruk_," he said finally, in a small voice, and then again, louder and with more purpose, "_I saw toruk...no, I __**was**__ toruk,_" he shook his head, "and I saw the destruction the sky people will cause. Please, you _must_ leave!"

* * *

**Deep breath. Okay, we made it this far, now how is what Mo'at has said going to affect things? you'll just have to wait and see.**

**Yes, I know I'm evil. Now, for...**

**Vocab:**

_**tawtute / sawtute**_** - sky person/people**  
_**utral aymokriyä**_** - tree of voices**  
_**uniltaron **_**- dream hunt**  
_**täftxuk **_**- shadowcat (my creation)**  
_**Ftang**_** - stop**  
_**Rutxe**_** - please**  
_**tsahìk **_**- spiritual leader**  
_**tswin **_**- queue**  
_**olo'eyktan**_** - clan leader**  
_**palulukan **_**- big kitty!**  
_**ikran**_** - banshee**  
_**Tsmuke**_** - sister**  
_**teylu **_**- edible grubs**  
_**Eampin**_** - blue (as in, the colour. yes, I had Tsu'tey name his _ikran_ "blue", he's a simple sort of man, I thought it fit him well.)**  
_**skxawng**_** - moron. Aaaand we're back to the "_Skxawng_" again.**  
_**toruk **_**- biiig red birdie!**  
_**'ite**_** - daughter  
**


	31. Chapter 30: If a Tree Falls

**I meant to have this out a few days earlier but I got stuck a bit and...oh gods this was hard to write! I had to watch certain scenes over and over a couple times, just heart-rending stuff!**

**I'm ploughing along on my NaNo although I'm a little behind, but once I have enough of any of the sections of it ready to go it'll be posted up here, because I know you'll all enjoy it. It's called "Histories" and it's full of background information on the families of some of our favourite characters here in Brotherhood!**

**Anyway, here we go. I recommend tissues for those who tend to shed a tear easily.  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 30: If a Tree Falls

Even as Grace and Jake were being taken away and bound, Antsu and Cathy were already on the move, speaking with mothers and telling them how to get to the forest house, organizing the older children into groups to guide the smaller ones. They tried not to alarm anyone too much, tried to present it to the children as an adventure, but the inevitable worry and fear was already spreading.

Once the evacuation of the children was well underway, they and Kxawn'e and Tìyana headed for the singers' alcove to try to talk to Ninat. She should leave also, and they should take Tom's avatar out of there with her. Cathy was worried that if he hadn't linked up again he must be being held somewhere in Hell's Gate, and he would want to be sure it was safe even if he couldn't do anything about it himself. And he would want to know Ninat was safe also. If he had any idea what was going on (and she wasn't sure he did, if he was locked up somewhere) he must be absolutely frantic with worry for her.

When Ninat saw them come into the alcove, she immediately curled up tightly around Tom's body again. "_I will not leave him!_" she said quickly, before they could even say anything.

"_Ma 'ite,_" Tìyana knelt next to her, "_you need to move somewhere safe. We will move his uniltìrantokx also, I promise._"

"_No!_" she hissed, clutching at him tighter, "_we must not move!_"

Tìyana looked over at her mate, confusion in her eyes, "_But Ni-tsyìp,_" she said soothingly, "_if we move his body then you will not be leaving it._"

"_Kehe,_" she whimpered, "_we cannot leave here!_"

The fuss she was making had attracted attention, and Neytiri slipped in next to them, "_What troubles you so, Ninat?_" she asked, "_What difference does it make where he wakes up?_" Of course, she thought it very likely that he wouldn't wake up, that he had either abandoned them completely in betrayal, the way Jake had... But that didn't seem right. He had been so attentive...

She wasn't sure anymore which twin she was thinking about, and to whom the attention she was thinking of had been paid, but she still couldn't bring herself not to be furious at Jake for everything he hadn't said. She shook her head and tried to focus again on the problem at hand, which was finding a way to calm Ninat enough to get her to move to safety.

She closed her eyes for a moment to try to think of a strategy, but when she did, she became immediately aware of the air within the alcove, and the thick, heavy weight of Eywa's will which hovered over everything within. She sighed and stood, taking Kxawn'e and Tìyana's hands in hers. "_It is Eywa's will," she said quietly, "it is a test of her determination and his, and we cannot interfere. She is not in immediate danger here, but if we move them it could be a disaster. It is hard..._" she could feel tears begin to trickle from her eyes at the thought of abandoning her closest friend since childhood. She took another deep breath and started again, "_It is hard, but this is how it must be._"

Ninat's parents' eyes met her own, tears in both of them, but they nodded.

"_Then we will comfort her as best we can, and when the time comes, we will let Eywa's will protect her,_" Kxawn'e said, "_It will not be easy, but if it will be more danger for her if she is moved, then we will do what we must._"

Neytiri nodded and quickly took her leave, letting the two of them settle down next to Ninat, who had relaxed slightly, although she didn't move from her position curled up around the one who should, by all rights, be her mate. The Great Mother had set her friend a hard trial, and Neytiri did not envy it of her. Even if her own trial was currently tugging at her heart as though it would turn her inside out.

* * *

For a brief moment when he'd told Mo'at and the crowd of angry Omatikaya his spirit animal, Jake had thought perhaps they would be set free, that they would be listened to, but Mo'at's thoughtful frown had turned into a decisive nod, and she'd turned to the people holding his arms behind his back. "_Bind them,_" she'd said, "_but not too tightly, and do not menace them in any way. They are being tested by Eywa, and we must not interfere. When they are free, it will show that their test has been passed._"

Which was really un-helpful, given that their hands were bound behind their heads with really strong cord. He wanted them all to get out of there, he knew the choppers would be coming soon, but more than anything he wanted Neytiri to get out of there, and damnit she wasn't going! He could see her standing nearby, with her bow in one hand, her other hand lifted to her forehead to see what would be coming over the horizon, and all he wanted was to see her_ safe_! He growled in frustration and tugged at the bindings again. Damnit he didn't care at this point if he was stuck still here when the tree fell, if it fell on him it would only be poetic justice...because Neytiri had been right. Even if he hadn't meant to, even if he'd tried not to, he _had_ betrayed their trust.

Damn Quaritch and his skewed human viewpoint, and damn Selfridge and his obsession with progress... They didn't understand at all, they just couldn't _See_!

* * *

Ninat growled to herself as she heard someone sit down near her. Was she going to have to go through this again? She turned to look and saw Ama', one of the young singers in training. The girl set down some food and gourds filled with water and smiled at her.

"I came to keep you company for a little while," the girl explained, "_I know you must stay, but I thought you must be lonely since your...your mate is injured and can't comfort you, and...and Tom is my friend also,_" she added, "_I wanted to see you both before I go to the forest house with your parents and the rest of the singers._"

"_Alright,_" Ninat sighed in relief and shifted her position, sitting up and resting Tom's head on her lap, "_it will be nice to have company for a little while, but you mustn't stay too long. I'm the one being tested by Eywa; you should get yourself to safety while you can. You will have a mate someday as well, and you should be sure to keep yourself safe for him, so he has something to fight for._"

"_Okay,_" Ama' nodded and blushed. "_You are right, I...must make sure to keep myself safe so he will have something to fight for when the sawtute come._"

Ninat smiled a little at that. Clearly, Ama' already had someone she had her eye on. She'd have to ask the girl more later, when it wouldn't worry her by encouraging her to think of how he might be hurt in the upcoming conflict.

* * *

In the biolab, Bailey was typing quickly and as calmly as he could. He didn't want his actions to seem like anything other than regular backing up of data since they had been told all scientific operations were being shut down indefinitely. In actuality he was initiating a program he'd put in place days ago. He and Dolan had designed it with just this kind of eventuality in mind. I would take all the live feeds from all the Sampsons, Scorpions and the Dragon which fed back to Hell's Gate and would copy them and store them in a secure, encrypted server under false file names. If this was going to be a messy situation - and, Bailey sighed to himself, it already was and was only getting worse - it would be of great benefit to all of the group of scientists working from within to have an independent record so that when the time came, they could reveal the truth to the world - to their home world - without having to rely on the no-doubt tainted and biased reports the RDA head honchos were receiving and spreading among the world news media.

* * *

As the children headed off in a long trouping line toward the forest house, Pämeya watched, her own two children held close at her side. Her mate, Tun'ut, was planning to go along with them as a healer, but she...she had a different mission.

"_Are you sure of this?_" Tun'ut asked, "_I know you worry for your charge, but there will be those here who will need your healing hands as well._"

"_Yes, there will be,_" she sighed and leaned against him, "_but she will need it more. I know my duty, Tun'ut, and it is to safeguard this woman. She is a stepdaughter of the tribe now, as I once was, and with what has happened to the tree of voices, Ka'tsi told me she is unwell._"

He nodded. He was a healer too; he understood the need to safeguard a patient, to go to them when they were ill, especially for one of the midwives, whose connection to their patients was so much more intimate. "_At least I will know you are safe among the uniltìranyu,_" he said, "_and our children safe with you. Come back to me as soon as you have made sure she is well._"

"_I will,_" Pämeya kissed him and leaned her forehead against his, "_and you must keep yourself safe until I return._" Without any further words she mounted up on her _pa'li_, taking the lead ropes of the other two she was bringing with her in case they needed to move Luuisì to somewhere she could be better cared for, and then caught each child as her mate passed them up to her, little Maya tucking herself into the baby carrier that was really too small now, and Kenet clinging on behind her.

She turned them away from _Kelutral_ and toward the place of the dreamwalkers and urged her mount forward, with good speed but not so fast that her son behind her would be jarred.

* * *

"_Are you sure you don't want me to stay?_" Kxawn'e asked his childhood companion, "_I am just as willing to protect our home as you are, you know._"

"_No, old friend,_" Eytukan shook his head, "_when it comes down to it, I am still merely a warrior, although perhaps slightly older than I once was. You will protect our home in a different way, by protecting yourself and the wealth of songs that you carry within you. The loss of one warrior, or even many, is little compared to the loss of the songs of our People._"

Kxawn'e nodded. "_You are far more wise than you let people see,_" he said, "_Be safe, old friend, and I will see you when this trouble is over, and...please keep my daughter safe._"

"_I will see you then,_" Eytukan agreed, "_and I will do my best to keep her safe._" He frowned as he watched Kxawn'e hurry away. There was one more important thing he had to do before he moved to where the _sawtute_ would be attacking from, the side of _Kelutral_ which faced the river, where their flying machines would have room to manoeuvre. A messenger had arrived by _ikran_ from the Aunrai clan, investigating the echoes of destruction which had rippled through all of Eywa's children that morning

"_You have seen what the sawtute machines have done,_" Eytukan said to him, "_and our preparations for the coming attack. It would likely be best if you were to return now, before the sawtute flying machines come close enough that they might see you. I would not wish you to put yourself in harm's way; it is more important by far that you carry what you have seen back to your own clan, so that others will know what is happening here._"

"_I will do so,_" the warrior nodded. "_I will take my leave now, and may Eywa watch over you and your people._"

"_Eywa ngahu,_" Eytukan nodded in return, watching the man jog off.

* * *

As they came down the winding pathway of the river, Tom kept his breathing steady. He didn't want to let the enemy know how frantic with worry this whole situation was making him. He wanted to make sure they continued to underestimate him so that when his chance came he could escape.

"That is one big damned tree," Quaritch breathed as the choppers moved into position. His fingers moved on a screen in front of the pilot, magnifying the scene below, and he chuckled. "Bring him over here," he told the sec-ops grunts who were holding Tom's arms, "there's something he oughtta see."

Tom didn't fight as he was pulled roughly forward and his face shoved down so that he had to look at the screen. Jake and Grace were tied up to some sort of framework - he thought it looked like one of the half-made looms, actually - and they were both screaming something and struggling to get free.

"It looks like diplomacy has failed," Quaritch said with a grin, "but that's what they get for trying to betray their own kind. I'd be more'n happy to see you share their fate, but I need someone to be an example and put on trial when you get sent home," he shrugged.

"You're wrong, you know," Tom said calmly. "I won't be going back to Earth, and I won't be put on trial. The RDA'd never risk the bad press from what you're about to do."

"Oh but this is fully sanctioned by the company," Quaritch said with a falsely innocent expression that made Tom want to puke. "Take him back where he can get a good view out the window but be out of the way," he ordered the men. "This'll be a good dose of reality."

Tom could see the people, mounted on _pa'li_ or running, moving around beneath the gunship, and his gaze searched the horizon, trying to see within the roots of _Kelutral_, trying to see how many were still in there. He hoped and prayed that Jake, Grace and Cathy had at least been able to persuade them to get the children to safety somewhere, and the non-combatants. God, Eywa, whoever it was that listened to these sorts of things; he prayed Ninat was not in there. 'Even if you take my avatar as punishment for my not moving quickly enough to speak of my concerns to Eytukan,' he prayed more seriously than he ever had before in his sceptical life, 'just please, _please_ make sure she stays safe. If she dies my life isn't worth living beyond revenge.'

It was the sort of sentiment that he would have thought stupid and fatalistic even three months ago, but now...Now everything had changed. He had no regrets though, not about his choices. The only thing he truly regretted was that he hadn't listened to her when she begged him to stay. He wished they could have had at least that one time together, that one night of peaceful bliss before the world came crashing down.

* * *

When the first gas rounds delivered their noxious contents into the roots of Hometree, Mo'at was startled, even though she had been expecting some kind of attack. The fumes burned her eyes and choked her throat, but all she could think of was making sure the children got out. She hurried from group to group of those who still remained, directing them through the clouds of bitter gas toward the path to the _uniltìranyu_ forest house. She would not run herself, though, at least, not yet. She would not abandon her home, her mate and her people so quickly, and...

And there was still Jhake and Grace to deal with. Their trial had only begun, and she needed to be witness to their actions, to see what Eywa had hinted at when she sent _toruk_ to Jhake. When the _toruk_ people began to emerge, it had always been a sign that a time of great sorrow approached, which, to Mo'at, meant that this attack, horrible, impossible as it was to take in, was only the beginning. There would be worse to come before they were saved, and if the _uniltìranyu_ had any part to play, then she must guide them in it.

The first explosive rounds hit the outer supports of _Kelutral_ and the reverberations sent Mo'at tumbling to the ground but she got to her feet again, tears streaming down her face from the gas, from the destruction and desperation surrounding her, from the thought of all the confusion her sole remaining child must be feeling at this moment, torn between the People she loved and the mate she had chosen only the night before...

Mo'at made no attempt to wipe her eyes as she emerged through the flames and smoke to the open space where their "traitors" had been bound.

* * *

Somehow, he wasn't quite sure how, Dolan and Moira had ended up among those who were in the link room when Grace and Jake went into link, and, being there, the sec-ops presence had made sure that they had to stay there, they couldn't leave. And even if they could have, Dolan likely would not have. His eyes were trained on the monitors, their streaming feed of the attack on Hometree surrounding them like some sort of movie, but, he kept reminding himself, this was no movie, this was no newsreel from some distant place and time that he was only tangentially connected to, this was visceral and real, and two people he knew were there (in their other bodies perhaps, but still, they were there!) He had never really interacted with Jake Sully, the man had only been in Hell's Gate itself a few times since his arrival, but Dolan respected Grace. Her samples were always impeccably collected, logged and dated, her instructions clear, and her love of the forest came through her eyes even when she was in her worst moods. And what about Tom? They had been trying to figure a way to break him out of the brig before all this started, but of course that was on hold now... Was his avatar in there somewhere, in imminent danger of getting destroyed?

No, he would not have walked out of the room if he could; he would not turn away. Someone needed to be witness to this atrocity, and today that witness would be him. He only wished that Moira didn't have to see this. She was a sweet girl who had come to Pandora with stars in her eyes at the thought of exploring a brave new world. She shouldn't have to see that dream destroyed...not like this.

* * *

Ninat huddled in the singers' alcove and watched Ama' run through the chaos that was now their home. She'd forced the girl to go, and she was terrified she'd lingered too long, but strangely, Ninat didn't feel afraid for herself or Tom. At some place deep in her heart, she knew what she was doing was the right thing. She knew Eywa had some purpose for the twins, not just Tom but Jake as well, and even though this terrifying attack would likely bring _Kelutral_ down around them, she _knew_ in her heart that as long as she stayed here with him - with his empty body waiting for his soul to return - she would find her happiness at the end of it all.

It might be some time before that happiness came though. Right now, all she could feel was a sense of detachment. It was as though the events happening around her, the fumes and smoke and fire of the _sawtute_ attack were not real, but part of some strange fever dream.

She coughed and shifted them, pulling them into the furthest part of the alcove where the air was not so tainted. They would wait here. She closed her eyes and cast her mind outward, trying to imagine that she could sense Tom nearby, that his soul was indeed in the body she cradled and was simply buried so deeply that it would take time and patience for him to wake.

She even managed to trick her mind into believing she could feel his arms around her, so she kept her eyes closed, treasuring the sensation until it could be real again.

* * *

Will Winram, navigation technician on the Dragon gunship, watched Quaritch pacing back and forth, his excitement clear, and something dark began to grow in his heart.

He'd always respected the Colonel, had believed the man to be the best possible person for an unpleasant and dangerous job, but as he watched the Na'vi below fight a valiant and futile battle in defence of their home, he began to wonder if he hadn't misunderstood the situation just a little. Yes, certainly the Na'vi had caused them problems in the past, and yes, they had killed the troop that had gone out with the dozers on this most recent foray, but at the same time...

Will couldn't help remembering his history lessons back in sixth form, the tales of the Battle of Britain that had eventually led to his own enlistment in the RAF as an idealistic young man, and how they said the Germans had come and come and come, dropping bombs on houses and churches...dropping bombs anywhere they liked to try to frighten the Britons into surrender. He was starting to feel distinctly like one of those Nazi Germans, and he didn't so bloody much like that feeling.

He glanced over to the prisoner, catching the man's eyes and seeing the deep anger and despair contained in them, although the rest of his face and posture radiated complete calm. He was a scientist, Will had been told, but something in the way he carried himself reminded Will of an SAS man he'd known in the forces, trained to kill a man fifteen different ways without him ever knowing what had happened. Yes, that scientist had some kind of self-defence training, he'd stake his last smuggled-in jar of Marmite on it.

He looked over at Quaritch again, then back to the prisoner, then to his instruments, and he made a decision he knew he would probably regret (but not in his soul). When the prisoner made his move, Will decided, he would do what he could to help.

* * *

Jake could feel the heat of the flames at his back as Hometree began to burn. He felt a flutter of echo that he knew was Tom's despair wherever he was, and he screamed in denial of what was happening before his eyes, of what was happening because of _him_...

He saw Neytiri running toward where he had last seen Eytukan, and she paused in front of them, her eyes meeting his. There was still so much anger there, and honestly, he knew he deserved it. He had betrayed every single one of them before he even really knew them, and even the inaccurate data he had provided hadn't prevented this. Nothing he had done could have prevented this, and the thought made him see red in anger.

And then Neytiri with her accusing, painful eyes was gone. She hadn't freed him, but then, he hadn't expected her to. It was no more than he deserved, to go down with the tree; he only hoped that she would get to safety now...that Eywa would spare her. Not that he totally believed in the Na'vi tree-goddess, but... But there was something here that had a power he had never imagined, and if he wanted to call it Eywa like they did, well, then that's what it was, and if he wanted to pray to it, to _her_, to beg her for a chance to make this right...

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled in warning as he felt someone move up behind them, the change in heat level from the fires burning unchecked behind him warning of another's presence.

"I should slice through your neck with this knife," he heard an angry voice hiss and felt the kiss of a blade. Neytiri! She had come back! He hadn't heard that tone from her since the very first night, when she accused him of being the cause of his own danger from the _nantang_ pack, but her voice was still beloved to him, even when poisoned with anger, "but it would be too easy and fast a death for you. You will remain here, but Grace cannot be blamed for your treason."

He heard the snap of Grace's bonds being cut, and felt then slap against his cheek as she fell to the ground before catching herself. He tried to turn his head to look, but Neytiri had disappeared.

And now Mo'at approached, her face branded with tears and her expression showing more pain than Jake had ever imagined one face could show. Ah. Now the blow of grace would come. At least Grace might get out of this alive. He didn't want to think of yet another parental figure in his life suffering and dying on his account.

"If you are one of us," Mo'at said, holding the knife against his throat, "if you are _toruk_, then...save us!"

The rope snapped, and something inside Jake snapped as well. The fatalism which had taken over, so alien to his normal demeanour, was gone, and in its place the will to survive swelled and grew. Survive, get his loved-ones out alive, and then, when he knew they were safe, come back for revenge!

Dropping to a crouch he shook his arms out and then quickly began to herd the women to safety. He didn't have much time now, Quaritch would blow the columns at any moment, and when he did...

Jake wondered, briefly, what effect his misinformation might have on the inevitable felling of the tree, but really, that didn't matter right now. He had civilians to get to safety, and he had to find Neytiri. He had to find his mate.

* * *

Hovering in formation around the base of Hometree, Trudy flicked on her targeting computer and flipped up the safety, her thumb hovering over the button that would release her Baby's payload into the coordinates specified by the target program. She took in the chaos below, and her mind swirled in chaos almost as thick. It was... God, she didn't even have the words to describe it. She knew what they were doing - what _she_ was doing, and she knew it probably better than any other person here - at least, any other person in the sec-ops side. She closed her eyes and all she could see was the time they had invited her in, how the weavers had welcomed her with open arms, how little, sweet, curious Laneya, Tsu'tey's little sister, had wanted to know everything about her. How old was Laneya anyway? Six? Seven? She couldn't be any older than that certainly, even if she was already as tall as Trudy. Was Laneya in there, her eyes streaming with tears from the gas rounds? Her lungs choked with smoke from the pillars of her home as they burned?

"_You know this isn't right, little one,_" she heard the voice of her father from her memory. What was it she'd been doing to cause him to use such a cold tone with her? She couldn't quite remember but she thought it had something to do with... Oh yeah, that time he'd caught her using small birds for target practice with her bow. "_You know that life is precious. Everything has its place, and if you kill only to prove that you can, what do you think the universe will think of you?_"

She shook her head and opened her eyes again, but she didn't see the scene in front of her... all she could see was her own home, the people scattering were her family and friends, the defiant leader raising his bow to the gunships her father...

She hadn't been there when her father was killed, he had sent Trudy and her mother, Aliz, away before that happened, but what Aliz had never known was that Trudy had seen the footage, and although his death had been nothing like this, the razing of his camp had been...far too similar.

She shuddered, feeling sick to her stomach. "Screw this," she muttered as she flipped the safety back down over the innocuous little button that would have sent more missiles into the tree. There was nothing she could do now to prevent its fall, or even keep the people running for safety from being hurt or killed, but at least she could show her displeasure by not participating. She had a few special features built into her Baby for just such a horrible situation. She wouldn't be blamed for the "mechanical failure" that was about to occur.

"What the hell're you doing?" she heard her gunner, Wainfleet, call into her headphones. Ugh. The man was a plant and she knew it. She'd known it from the moment she met him, Quaritch's little rat. He'd been put on her crew after she busted the avatars out of the shot-up schoolhouse. Even though her reasoning for that had been approved by Selfridge, Quaritch had never quite trusted her after that little stunt, and set his own little golden boy to keep an eye on her.

"I didn't sign up for this shit," she swore back at him, and already in her mind she was making up an excuse for what she'd said. The "shit" she'd say she'd been referring to being the fact that her targeting computer had shorted out and her gyros gone offline, forcing her to make an immediate return to base.

She turned her nose toward home, ignoring the angry words coming over her radio, and just sent a short message: "Engine trouble, gotta bail."

The last thing she wanted to do was be there when the tree fell. She had seen it once before, with her own home, she didn't need to see it again to know the sickening pain would never go away. All she wanted now was to land, get rid of the cancerous waste of breath riding with her and find Norm so that when the inevitable nightmares came, she would have something to hold onto.

* * *

"And that's how you scatter the roaches," Quaritch nodded, the self-satisfaction in his voice finally too much for Tom.

"They are not. Roaches," Tom ground out. "Or monkeys. They are people. The most noble, selfless people I have ever known. They are _good_, in a way a 'roid-poisoned, shrunken-balled, dick-brain like yourself could never even begin to contemplate."

With a move much quicker than either of the men holding him had anticipated he pulled free of their grip, his body a swift, sure weapon even with his hands still tied behind his back. Mom had taught both Jake and him how to move, how to fight, from the time they could walk and almost before, and even though he hadn't had much need to use it in years, that sort of training never fully left a person. Krav Maga was said to be one of the strongest martial arts and also one of the dirtiest, rising from the cruel streets of the Jewish quarter in the nineteen-thirties and forties, and the sometimes even crueller conditions in Israel which had followed.

He couldn't get out of his cuffs and he knew it, so instead he used his feet, kicking out at any who tried to jump in and take him down, and he used his shoulders and upper body as a bludgeon, aiming for heads or lower, for the solar plexus. There weren't many troops on the gunship - there shouldn't be a need for them, after all. Four would have seemed to be more than enough to contain a "limp-dicked science puke", so it didn't take long for Tom to take them out, at least for long enough to get to Quaritch as the man turned to see what all the commotion was.

With a roar, Tom rushed him, using every bit of his body weight centered low in another blow aimed for the solar plexus. His hope was that he'd hit at the right angle to overbalance the bigger man and throw him over his shoulder where he could get in a good kick or two before he was taken down. It almost would have worked, too. He did get in a good blow, and another with his forehead to Quaritch's jaw as he straightened up, but the months spent overdoing it in link had weakened him more than he'd thought, and his speed wasn't enough to change the Colonel's balance like he'd hoped.

He grit his teeth hard not to scream as a hard chop to his elbow dislocated it, but the pain made him woozy and he stumbled as he tried to stay on his feet. He felt a pair of hands catch him, far more gently than he'd expected, and then he was helped to the ground.

"Go easy on him, sir," a voice with a ...British accent?... said, and he looked around, trying to figure out who was talking.

"Winram, you're putting yourself in for desk duty," Quaritch growled, and Tom blinked back the involuntary tears the pain in his arm was causing to look over at the man who'd caught him, silently thanking him...and then the Colonel's face was in his with a sneer.

"I see your cripple brother taught you a thing or two before he turned into a useless cripple," he said, "nice try, really, but a science puke is always a science puke, even when he's trying to be a hero."

"You think Jake..." Tom had to laugh at that, well aware he was on the edge of hysterics after everything the day had brought. "Naw, Jake and I might've both had the same skills but he didn't teach me. That move I just used on you? All Mom, all the way. Our mom was real kick-ass. You might've heard of her, actually. Miranda David, Marine Intelligence? She never took Da's last name, it's a family thing. The girls always kept their own name..."

The slightly confused and angry look on Quaritch's face only made this better. Especially the way his eyebrows were climbing in what had to be stunned shock.

"Yeah. Next time, do your research a little better," Tom laughed, "It's not like we hid it." Mom had been a legend among the Marines, even though she hadn't taken combat missions since before the twins were born. When you came from a line like hers, though, the respect was almost inborn, and the rumours of what she'd done in covert ops only reinforced that respect, even if most of it could never be proven.

* * *

With each explosion, Jake's inner turmoil grew. He needed to get to Neytiri, he needed to get her to safety, but he couldn't leave Grace and Mo'at. The ground shook and debris went flying, and he fought the greying at the edges of his consciousness, fought the PTSD triggers he thought he'd killed, the memories of the explosion that had taken out his spine, had crippled Meilin's shoulder, had sent shrapnel tearing through Davis's face, killing him instantly...

"Down!" he shouted, his hands going out to push their heads low enough to be sheltered by the log they were hiding behind. Pathetic shelter but he hadn't had time to find anything better, and something was better than nothing.

There was a pause then, as the shelling stopped. An eerie silence as the world hung in balance for an eternal moment...

And then, with a creak and a groan and a horrible tearing, splintering sound, the tree began to fall.

"Go!" Jake shouted, pulling the women to their feet and pushing them in front of him, "go go go!" He had to get them out of here! They weren't in the direct path of the main trunk, but Hometree was massive, and its canopy even more so. Those branches might look tiny in comparison to the trunk, but they were more than big enough to spear a person!

He glanced over his shoulder as they ran, watching the tree come down, watching...ah, good; he saw _ikran_ and riders taking off from the falling treetop. At least they were out safely! And then he saw the consequences of his lies. With a shriek, _Kelutral_ twisted as it fell, and with an almost casual grace, its wide, leafy canopy took out three Scorpions and a Sampson. A small retribution, not truly enough, but it was something. At least Quaritch would learn that you did not attack Pandora without her fighting back!

* * *

As the tree fell, sending up a rushing wave from the river which doused many of the flames which had eaten its base, the shock ran through the ground like the earthquakes which would signal an eruption of the far-off volcanoes, and Neytiri felt it not only in her bones, but in her soul as it was ripped from her chest. Her home was gone. It was _gone_, and it had taken countless numbers with it. She had seen them, running, screaming, and then their cries silenced forever as their home fell upon them, crushing them in an instant, giving them no chance to survive. And Ninat... Neytiri wished she hadn't listened to that strange urge; wished she had insisted like everyone else that her friend must escape.

This day had brought so much loss already; she didn't know how she could bear the thought of any more. She had to find her father! She hoped her mother had gotten out safely, but she knew her father had been heading back in, trying to get as many of the People to safety as he could, and now...

"_Ma Sempul!_" she cried out as she caught sight of his distinctive form lying prone on the ground. She fell to her knees at his side, reaching out to help him up - surely he was simply stunned from the explosions, had lost his balance as the ground shook and was only slow to get to his feet again - but then she saw it. A piece of wood as thick as her arm pierced him through the belly, and although she might try to tell herself that it could be fixed, that they could bring a healer and get the impaling..._thing_...out of him, in her heart she knew better.

"_Ma 'ite,_" he gasped, reaching up to her, and she tried to look strong for him, she tried not to let him see how her heart was dying within her. "_Take my bow,_" he pressed it into her hand, "_protect the people..._" And then his hand fell away, and she knew he was gone.

She wailed helplessly as she clutched the bow to her breast, as if it could take the place of everything she had lost this day, as if it could send an arrow straight to the heart of each of those who had caused this hurt. She closed her eyes against the tears that came, and tried to imagine drawing back the bow, taking aim as she had that first time she'd seen..._him_. If only she'd taken that shot _none_ of this would have happened! If she'd just taken that shot, if the _atokirina'_ had not stopped her...

But it had, and she wondered if Eywa was somehow sickened by the presence of the _sawtute_ to such a degree that she was sending portents that were against the balance.

She thought she heard him, then, his voice saying her name in that impossible way of his. 'What is his problem with "r"s anyway?' she thought to herself in a completely irrelevant and automatic way that she hated herself for seconds later. She shouldn't care anymore; he had betrayed all of them!

"Neytiri," he said softly, his hand going to rub her shoulder, and she spun on him angrily.

"Go away!" she screamed. She didn't want him near, didn't want him to see her grief and vulnerability...didn't want to give in to the traitorous urge that lived deep inside of her that told her to let him close, to bury her face in his chest and let him comfort her. She didn't deserve comfort. She had betrayed her people even more than he had. He, at least, had an excuse, but she... "Go _away_!" she pulled away from him, slapping his arm harshly before returning to kneel next to her father's body, holding it and keening with pure loss, not only of him, but of everything she had ever known.

* * *

Finally unable to stand watching even one more second of the horrible vision being plastered across the screen - the fall of the tree, the fire, and the tiny, panicked blue figures scurrying like ants...or not moving any longer - Moira whimpered and pressed her face into Dolan's shoulder. He just continued to stare grimly ahead, resisting the urge to stroke her hair soothingly. They had an audience, after all, to whom he did not want to show any weakness right now. Instead he very subtly leaned against her and bit the insides of his cheeks, knowing the horror he was seeing was being recorded into the hidden files on his computer. It was just the sort of thing that, when sent to the UN council and played across co-opted display screens all over the world, would start an outrage among the general public. Especially if he could dig up some stock footage of the early 21st century Twin Towers and their fall to play alongside it. Sure, it was an event over a hundred and fifty years before, but there were still re-creationists out there who did re-enactments of that and other "turning points of history" and it was still a major part of the history every child learned in school. The parallels should be easy enough for even the most ignorant to draw.

He heard Moira gasp at the same moment he heard Selfridge (the little slime) calmly say "pull the plug." and his hands fisted with suppressed rage.

"No!" Moira protested, galvanized into action, "you can't do that!"

"You can't interrupt a link in progress!" Norm Spellman cried out as well, rushing the security personnel and even managing to take one of them out with a wild right hook before being cuffed to the rail.

* * *

"I'm sorry Neytiri," Jake pleaded with her, refusing to leave as she had screamed for him to do, "I'm sorry. Please...!" It wasn't safe for her to stay here, but he knew he couldn't make her move. Not before she was ready; not before she was done pouring out her grief over the death of her father...

She looked up at him again, but she didn't push him away this time, at least, not physically, but there was so much pain in her eyes... He wanted to take her in his arms, to rock her against him until all that pain went away, but he had the feeling she wouldn't let him, not until he gave her good reason to, and besides that, he was on borrowed time and he knew it.

"Listen," he said, "they won't let me stay here much longer, they'll take me soon, like they did before, and if you leave my body here to rot it'd be no more than I deserve, but know this: I will find a way to make this right," he said firmly, "I will find a way to make right what I've done wrong, and I will find you again when I am worthy of you."

She still didn't speak, but he saw something in her eyes that said to him that she had understood, that somehow the connection between them that had begun in the grove of the Tree of Voices had not ended when their queues detached from one another but still existed in some kind of invisible string that bound them together, whether she liked the idea or not.

"I should not believe you," she whispered finally, and he felt hope begin to flutter in his chest...and then that flutter was taken over by the detached feeling of having his link summarily shut off, and he woke to chaos and rough hands that hefted him into a fireman's carry.

* * *

"_I should not believe you, but somehow, I do,_" Neytiri whispered as she turned to look back at the fallen tree - their fallen home - where she had left him. She had moved him a little but it had seemed wrong, and not only because of his betrayal. Those feelings, the signs Eywa brought to her, had told her that his destiny lay with the corpse of _Kelutral_ and that if he was true to his word, as she had always thought he was, that he would make good on his promise. Although she did not see how that would be possible.

She felt her mother's hand on her shoulder and turned, her father's bow - _her_ bow - heavy in her hand as they walked. To the forest house first, for the children, and then on to the only place they could go...to _Vitrautral_.

* * *

**Well... That was...harder than I'd thought it would be, and I knew it would be hard. I'll continue to push through though, because I know that eventually the hard parts will be something to triumph over, and I look forward to the bittersweet moments in between as well. All is not lost, even though they might feel that way right now, and we all know that, as the Na'vi say, Eywa will provide.**

**There was something I wanted to make a note about...oh yes, Krav Maga. I'm curious to know if anyone realizes what this means for the background of our boys in my worldview! Did you all enjoy getting to see Tom kick Quaritch's ass, at least a little? I know I did. That part made writing everything else in this chapter worth it.**

**And now on to Vocab...**

_**'ite**_ **- daughter**  
_**uniltìrantokx **_**- dreamwalker body, empty avatar**  
_**-tsyìp**_** - little, affectionate addition to a name**  
_**Kehe**_** - No**  
_**sawtute **_**- humans**  
_**uniltìranyu**_** - dreamwalker, avatar**  
_**pa'li**_** - direhorse**  
_**ikran **_**- banshee**  
_**Eywa ngahu**_** - proper way to say "goodbye" from "May Eywa be with you"**  
_**toruk **_**- Biiig red birdie**  
_**Kelutral **_**- Hometree**  
_**nantang **_**- viperwolf**  
_**Sempul**_** - Father**  
_**atokirina' **_**- seeds of the sacred tree, messengers of Eywa**  
_**Vitrautral**_** - the Tree of Souls, the sacred tree  
**


	32. Chapter 31: Moments of Silence

**Only a tiny bit late, I had intended this chapter for Remembrance Day...well, a bunch of it got written during the day of remembrance anyway, so I suppose that'll do almost as well. For those of my readers who aren't familiar, up here in Canada we celebrate the sacrifices made by the men and women who died in war on November 11th. Certainly in other places they have such ceremonies also, but here there is always a very sober, heavy air to the day, and it is always well-attended and honoured. **

**This chapter, then, is dedicated to the memory of all those who gave their lives so that we can enjoy the freedom and happiness we too often take for granted. I may not be in favour of war, but I don't discount the efforts made on my behalf.**

**Okay, enough preachyness from me! On with the things that are more immediately of concern to you, my faithful readers :D**

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Brotherhood Chapter 31: Moments of Silence

The smoke and the fire and the creaking and groaning of the tree as it fell had been something she didn't want to hear, so she'd tried to cover her ears, but it echoed through her body as well, and when the tree finally came down... She could swear the tree itself had been screaming as the roots ripped themselves apart from its now-unbalanced weight. Through all this she stayed where she was, huddled close around the body of her mate, and she tried to stay strong, as she knew she would have to be to get through this.

When the noise finally stopped, Ninat opened her eyes to total darkness, blacker than anything she had ever seen in her life. The only sources of light were Tom's dimly-glowing _sanhì_ and her own... She tried to crawl toward the entrance to the alcove, but her fingers encountered nothing but branches and dirt. She dug at it a little, but it didn't seem to be anything other than more branches and more dirt. Perhaps a crack had opened up somewhere else...

She slowly made her way completely around the space, poking and prodding and trying to pull on what seemed like loose bits of the walls, and she tried to keep up hope - she _had_ to keep up hope! - and she did this over and over again, but ultimately there was no denying it... They were buried alive.

She returned to Tom's body and took a sip of the water Ama' had brought before curling up next to him. She should try to sleep now, and not use too much of their air. All she could do was hope that someone knew to come looking for her, that they didn't simply assume she had been crushed beneath _Kelutral_ as it fell.

Silently she sent a prayer for strength to Eywa.

* * *

As she started her approach to Hell's Gate, a voice came on the radio that made Trudy smile even with everything that was going through her mind right now.

"Hey there Chica," Jaime said cheerfully, his Newfie accent exaggerated for effect, using the nickname only he could get away with, "How'd ye manage ta get in ahead'a all the rest? Hadta take a call of nature?"

"My damn gyros are acting up again," Trudy told him over the radio, letting her exasperation at her door gunner show in her voice, hiding it behind the logical frustration she should be feeling, "I had to get back before I fell out of the sky."

"You poor thing you, missing all the excitement," he sighed, "tell ya what, I'll treat ya to drinks as soon's you're done your post-flight check an' we can console each other about missing out on all the action."

"That sounds awesome, Jaime," she agreed, "can't wait to see you!" She wanted to see Norm even more, but she couldn't risk anyone finding out her true feelings right now. Not when it would risk so much else, so Jaime, the fun-loving uncle type figure, would just have to do.

* * *

"I thought you told me you had this all in the bag!" Selfridge railed at Quaritch, "Tell me, how the hell do you lose four choppers - FOUR! - when all you're up against is a fucking tree?"

"It shouldn't've twisted like it did," Quaritch shook his head, "all the specs we had said it would fall straight when we took out those support columns."

"Well even so, you should've backed off further," Selfridge griped, "do you have any idea how much of a hassle it's gonna be to have to write off four choppers? Not to mention good pilots are pretty damn hard to come by up here even if the stereolithography plant can pretty much make us new equipment. What's the point of making the choppers if there's nobody out there to fly them?"

Quaritch just rolled his eyes. "That's your problem, not mine," he said, "I did what you asked, even if the specs were a little off. I took out the tree and sent the blue monkeys packing."

"And where did you get these oh so accurate specs?" Selfridge raised an eyebrow, "from a known traitor. You should've taken that into account."

"I did," Quaritch frowned darkly, "I only used info he'd given us in the first week he was out there, before his weasel of a brother had easy access to try and turn him all soft."

"Well, evidently you shouldn't have even used those," Selfridge said, "now why don't you go do something to entertain yourself, I have reports to write and a situation to spin."

Once he was out of the office, Quaritch made a rude noise. Not a lot of use in that one, all he thought of was the bottom line. Sure, losing the Sampson and Scorpions wasn't great, but they weren't the first or the last vehicles that would be claimed by the jungle here on Pandora. The loss of trusted men, though... Even though he'd long since accustomed himself to the thought that in any command some of your men are going to die, he still didn't particularly like it. It always felt just the tiniest bit like a failure.

* * *

As the light faded, the displaced Omatikaya were still many hours' travel from _Vitrautral._ Mo'at passed the word along that they would bed down for the night - it would not do for the many injured among them to be overtaxed, and the day had been exhausting for so many reasons.

Without _nivi_ of any kind, the people simply found likely-looking patches of ground and began to curl up with their loved-ones, counting the blessing of each family member who was safe and still with them, while grieving the loss of those who were not.

Even though they had found themselves a place to sleep, Cathy was restless. She knew she ought to be going to sleep so she could unlink and tell Taka, Louise and Carlos what had happened, but once she unlinked she would be away from her mate, and right now, after everything that had happened, she really needed to be with him. She paced up and down from one group to the next, ostensibly checking on the children, making sure that all of them were safe with their parents or, in a few heart-wrenching cases, with relatives.

Even when she was assured all her charges were well taken care of she still paced, until Antsu was suddenly standing in front of her, a gentle hand on her shoulder stopping her forward movement.

"_It is time to rest, ma yawne,_" he told her, "_you have done all you can._"

"_Have I?_" she shook her head, "_Antsu, I should have known. I know what they're capable of, I should have suspected something like this would happen._"

"_You cannot blame yourself for the mindsick decisions of others,_" he pulled her against him, tucking her head under his chin, "_You can only be responsible for your own decisions, and in that you have done well today. You persuaded Eytukan to send the children away, so none of the little ones was lost. Do not let the other losses sit upon your shoulders, they don't belong there._"

"But..." she shook her head, "If I'd only..."

He drew her face up to his and silenced her with a kiss. "Enough "if" from you," he said, "come, let me put you to sleep." He led her away to where they'd made their little nest for the night, close enough to hear their nearest neighbors but hidden so they would have privacy. He sat, pulling her down with him, and kissed her again, his hands busying themselves with touching and stroking the now-familiar curves of her body.

At first she protested. She didn't feel she deserved such attention when others no longer had their mates and grieved tonight, when all grieved the loss of their home which - no matter what he said - she still blamed herself for, at least in part, but then...

It was like a dam had burst, and all the fear and anger and sadness of the day melted away into a feeling of relief so acute it made her blood pound in her ears. They were still alive; she was alive and he was with her, and she suddenly needed to be reminded of that; needed the strong, physical reminder that his hands on her body and her hands now stroking over his promised within their caress. Her body ached for his, and as they made the bond of _tsaheylu_ she realized that he needed the relief and reassurance of her body even more. She saw again through his memories the horrible loneliness he had suffered when he thought she had been taken away from him forever, and she swore that no matter what happened she would fight to be with him.

They didn't undress - they didn't want to fall asleep with the vulnerability of total nudity in a strange place with all the world turned topsy-turvy - but it didn't take long before he'd pushed her top up out of the way of his seeking mouth, and pulled aside her loincloth to slip his fingers (and then other, more intimate things) deep inside her.

Their lovemaking was both primal and transcendental, the aching relief of survival and the reaffirmation that they were both _alive_ and that the two of them together could do anything.

As he finally collapsed on top of her, completely spent, and she closed her eyes and let her breathing slow and her exhaustion take over, she found herself sending a small prayer through the aether.

"_Please bless me this time, Mother,_" she thought, "_I feel ready now; I am truly one of the People...it is time._"

* * *

Trudy had figured this would be like any other time she'd hung out with Jaime, that they'd meet in the cafeteria and sit at the bar and drink and chat and basically have a grand old time, but although they met at the cafeteria just like always, and he seemed to be his usual cheerful self, something seemed..different. She couldn't tell just what it was, but something about his attitude was different than she'd ever seen in him before, although maybe she was reading too much into it. He led her over to the bar, and that's when she knew for sure it wasn't just that she was reading her own unsettled mood into his. Instead of ordering drinks for them, he leaned over and grinned at the bartender.

"Chica an' I're wantin' to do a little commiseration in private," he said casually, "you do offsales?"

"Um...not normally," the woman hesitated, "but since it's you..."

"You're an absolute doll," Jamie winked at her. "Far too good for a nasty place like this."

"What is it you want?" she asked, gesturing at the counter behind her where the (moderately) wide selection of different alcohols was on display. The RDA had learned early on that it didn't do to try and run a dry colony - people got antsy if they couldn't relax somehow, and in a place where going for a nice relaxing walk outside involved deadly threats and poisonous air, alcohol was often the lesser of the evils.

"Bottle of tequila, I'm thinkin'," Jaime looked over at Trudy. "Whatcha say, Chica? A little taste of home?"

Trudy shook her head, "up to you," she said, "I don't mind either way."

"Tequila it is, then," he nodded. The bottle that was handed over wasn't particularly large but that was alright. It would be enough to get them both mildly tipsy, and Trudy knew for a fact that Jaime had more to drink around somewhere. He'd mentioned something called "Screech" in an unguarded moment, and although liquor was only supposed to be available through the company, contraband was certainly not an unknown thing here at Hell's Gate.

"So," she looked over at him as they headed out of the cafeteria, "where exactly are we going?"

"Back to my place," he said, "but don't worry Chica, I don't have any rude intentions. Just thought you'd want some privacy after such a difficult day."

"I...thanks," she nodded, glancing around and finding the halls were empty, "I appreciate that. I already had to explain my actions to Quaritch and he was less than pleased. Mind you, my Baby being possibly out of commission for a day or two probably pissed him off more than the thought that I didn't contribute at all to the shots that took down the tree. It means he's down two Sampsons instead of just the one the tree took out, as well as the three Scorpions."

"After you," Jaime stepped politely aside after opening the door to his room, and Trudy stepped inside. She hadn't been sure what to expect of his space, but if anyone had asked her to guess she probably would have described something very like what she saw in front of her. A spare, military space peppered here and there with bits of memorabilia and Newfie knickknacks. It just screamed "Jaime" all over.

"Thanks," Trudy smiled at him and sat on the edge of the bed, watching as he headed over to set their bottle of tequila on the dresser and dig around in his sock drawer for a couple of shot glasses.

"Sorry," he said, handing her the first shot, "I'm fresh outta limes, an' can't put my hands on any salt either, really."

"Naw, 'salright," she shrugged, tossing the shot back and feeling it burn over her tongue and all the way down to stoke embers in her belly, "it's rotgut stuff anyway and the mood I'm in right now I'm willing to suffer a bit to get enough of a buzz that maybe I'll forget."

Jaime raised his glass to her before tossing it back as well. "A hard day," he said, "and harder for you than any of the rest I'm sure."

"Yeah," she groaned, "engine trouble sucks."

"And that isn't the only reason, is it?" he asked seriously, pouring them each another shot. "I know what that kind of action means to you, Chica, or I have an idea anyway."

"What are you talking about?" she asked warily, watching his movements out of the corner of her eye as he grabbed a chair and sat facing the back.

"I know your little secret...or should I say your big secret?" He shook his head, "but here I am opening cans of worms without givin' you my reason for doin' it. I wasn't always as you see me now, Chica. I used to be something far different from a mere comms jockey."

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow, "do tell." Hopefully he'd get so busy telling her about his own background that he'd forget whatever it was he thought he knew about hers.

"Drink, Chica," Jaime shook his head, "you're gonna need it." He waited until she'd downed her next shot, poured her another, and then began.

"Back about twenty years ago I wasn't Comms at all," he said, "I was a Patricia, although of course I started my military career in the Blue Puttees like any good boy from The Rock, but when they found out through my aptitude tests that I had the temperament and skill to be trained as a sniper I got transferred to the Patricias. I was a damn good sniper too," he took another drink, "only I had this little problem...I had a conscience. Well, most of the time it wasn't really a problem, I mean, usually we're only sent in to take out targets that have a good reason to need killing, you know what I mean? But every now and then they'd ask me to take out a target that I wasn't so sure needed killing... Although of course I always did my best to obey orders, sometimes in those cases there were...little incidents which made it difficult to properly execute my mission. Nothing obvious, you understand," he added quickly, "I was smart and careful, after all, but just little things. Some of those targets even lived after I didn't manage to take them out, they got away or it was determined they didn't need killing after all... Anyway, as I said, I was a really good sniper, and because of that I got a lot of infiltration and long-haul difficult assignments that would mean weeks or even months of surveillance to learn the habits and movements of my target. Which was my downfall, really, because that much surveillance meant that I could see what was going wrong, and I could see when a target really shouldn't be taken out. The final straw, though, was when they sent me to Belize."

Trudy gasped and she could feel the colour draining from her face. She looked at Jaime and all she could do was stare, trying to imagine him decked out in a jungle Gillie suit, crouched somewhere halfway up a tree, drawing a bead on her father... "You..." she growled, her temper rising faster than she'd thought possible.

"No," he shook his head, "that's what I'm tryin' to tell you, Chica: they sent me in, but I couldn't pull the trigger. I watched the camp for two months, and every day I got to know your people better and better and I could see that your Pop was right. We really were screwing with things we didn't have any right to, and we really did need to change. The military was being paid off to try to take him out by the big corporations that were threatened by his actions, and the thought of that made me sick. Still, I knew I couldn't just fake a difficult shot or trouble with my rifle this time...I was sick of the whole mess and I wanted out, so you know what I did, Chica? I fell outta that tree." He laughed lightly, "Didn't know if I'd even make it, you know? Although I wasn't really all that high, so I figured I'd probably just get knocked out and have to be extracted, but I did a real good number on myself and gave myself this bum shoulder here." He lifted his right arm above his head and the awkwardness and pain triggered by the movement were obvious in his face.

"So you watched us for...how long? Months?" Trudy asked, holding out her glass for another shot, "and when you decided enough was enough you deliberately injured yourself so you couldn't take the shot? That's... What are the odds that of all places you and I would both end up way the fuck out here in this hellhole?"

"What are the odds indeed," he raised his glass and clinked it to hers, "Fate, she's a cruel mistress."

"How did you figure out it was me, though? I mean, how'd you figure out who I was? I don't use our last name, haven't since I was like nine, and I take after my _Na' _- my mom. How'd you know?"

"I told you, Chica, I watched the camp. I saw everyone coming and going and doing their daily things, and I watched the kids playing, running around and climbing the trees like little monkeys and doing all that crazy stuff. Do you think I wouldn't have seen that same cute little girl in your face when you arrived here? And then you went and painted that giant frickin' clue on your door, not that anyone else'd pick up on it..."

That made Trudy laugh. "You're right," she said, "it was taking a risk, but I was just so sick of hiding who and what I was, I figured at least I could be open about it even while I wasn't being open about it, if that makes any sense."

"No, I get it," he smiled, "I get it. And you know, he would'a been proud of you today."

She just shook her head.

"No, I'm serious," Jaime reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, "from one saboteur to another, you din't really have engine trouble, didja?"

"Oh I had engine trouble alright," she smirked, "the techs're fixing my Baby up as we speak, it's just not random engine trouble. Even if they'll never find the program that triggered it."

Jaime tipped his head back and howled with laughter. "I figured as much," he grinned at her, "yer dad definitely would'a been proud!"

Trudy grinned slyly, "I guess I do take after him in some ways," she admitted, "now gimme that bottle. After today's mess I think I need to get a little drunk."

* * *

Even though she knew she ought to go to sleep, Neytiri was pacing around the Omatikaya encampment, her fingers rubbing furiously at her arms. She must have brushed up against something in their trek today, or perhaps she was sensitive to the horrible-smelling foul...whatever it was the _sawtute_ had used to try to drive them out. Whatever it was that had caused it, her skin was tingling - almost itching - and it was really irritating. Not only that, but she couldn't seem to find the unity of mind necessary to ignore the minor physical irritation.

She wondered if there might be a lake or river nearby. Perhaps the problem would go away if she washed herself? It couldn't hurt to try. She tried to stop rubbing at her arms as she walked the edges of the camp. It was slightly embarrassing having so little control that she couldn't stop her fingers from twitching against her own skin.

"_What troubles you, ma 'evi?_" she heard someone say, and turned to see that one of the elder healer women was looking at her curiously.

"_I think I may have somehow touched something that makes me itch,_" she admitted, glad at the thought of a little advice from someone who might actually be able to help, "_I cannot seem to stop touching my skin it is bothering me so. I was looking for a place to bathe, do you know if there is any water nearby?_"

"_As to water I don't know,_" the healer shook her head, "_but water wouldn't be likely to help all that much, I'm afraid. It isn't anything you touched which makes you itch, ma 'evi, it is what you do not touch._"

Neytiri frowned. What was it about singers and healers that they had to be so obscure? But then again, her mother the _tsahìk _was more obscure even than them and had been teaching her how to be so as well, so she supposed she didn't have that much right to complain. "_It is something I'm not touching?_" she asked, "_If that is so, then tell me, what do I need to touch to make this sensation go away?_"

The healer sighed and shook her head regretfully. "_I have not seen a case like yours in many years,_" she said, "_it is so uncommon, which is likely why you don't realize what is going on with your body... You are recently mated, are you not? To the uniltìranyu whose actions were not enough to keep the sawtute from our home?_"

"_I am,_" Neytiri admitted, "_although I..._" She shook her head, "_it is confusing. I should regret what I have done, and I am still angry with him, but somehow I cannot find it in my heart to want to take back that one night we spent together..._"

"_If Eywa blessed your mating, then it happened for a reason,_" the healer smiled a little sadly at her, "_but now your body aches for the mate who is not here to soothe it. I do not know of any cure for this condition, but from what I recall, the best way to deal with it is to keep your mind active and your body also, so that when it comes time to sleep your body will simply insist on it without you needed to put any effort in. Salves will do little good, and the herbs I might give you under other circumstances to relax your mind and body would be too dangerous to take in such an uncertain situation. I am sorry,_" she shook her head, "_for you, and also for your mate. I know many speak out angrily at what he has done - or not done - and you no less than any of them, but remember, me 'evi, he is young, as you are, and the young do not always succeed in their endeavours against those who are older, wiser and more trained in the art of the hunt, where every tiny action is planned and others may be used to the wily old hunter's advantage._"

Neytiri just sighed. "_I am angry at him, yes,_" she said, "_but also I am sad. Eywa sent us such dreams of happiness...how could she be so confused?_"

"_Perhaps you need to think more on that,_" the healer reached over to pat her shoulder, "_Perhaps it is you who is confused. Now, if you still cannot sleep, I believe there is a gathering of warriors over by the fire just to the south of us. Or there may be a river to the west of the camp, I believe I noticed it as we walked. I, on the other hand, must rest these old bones. Although I will miss my nivi. But if I have lived this long and survived this day, then Eywa must still have need of my hands and my skill, so I must be well so I can make others well._"

"_Thank you,_" Neytiri nodded politely, "_txon lefpom_."

"_May you find the solace you need,_" the healer gestured to her, "_for your body and your heart_."

Neytiri turned toward the fire she could see flickering on the edge of the camp to the south. She would do better, she decided, to have the distraction of strong discussion with her fellow hunters, and that, even more than the possible relief of the water that might or might not be there, was something that could be counted upon. She moved quickly through the camp, and when she arrived, she saw many familiar faces among the group. Those who had scaled _Kelutral _as it was falling to escape on their _ayikran _had scouted ahead, ensuring the way to _Vitrautral _was clear, and then returned to guard the refugees. Tsu'tey was among their number, as well as Peyral, and she thanked Eywa for small blessings that her friends from childhood were not among the fallen. She tried not to wonder what had become of Ninat, but it was hard not to worry, so she sent out a little prayer to Eywa that the singer was safe and would find her way safely to rejoin her family when her period of testing was over.

She sat down near the fire, the others moving aside to give her room, and turned to Peyral.

"_It is good to see you safe,_" she said, "_all of you,_" she looked around at the group.

"_And you also,_" said Eanì, one of the female hunters a few years older than Neytiri. She then turned to Tsu'tey. "_We will leave you to your discussions,_" she said, and as one the entire group who had been sitting around the fire, save Tsu'tey and Peyral, rose and gestured politely to them, murmuring of sleep and wishing them a peaceful night.

"_What is going on?_" Neytiri asked, confused, as she watched them go.

"_We had already spoken to them and told them we wanted to talk to you in private,_" Peyral explained gently, "_there are things we have been thinking about and discussing between the two of us that you need to know, and we thought you might not want a large audience._"

Neytiri, still feeling at something of a loss, looked between the two. Surprisingly, it was Tsu'tey who spoke next.

"_Do you remember, just before he was taken from his body, Jhake tried to speak to me of wasps' nests?_" he asked her.

Neytiri nodded warily, still not sure where this was going.

"_At the time I was too angry to think about it, but this afternoon as I flew over Vitrautral, my mind calmed and the memory came to me. He'd said it was very important, when we spoke of it before, and that no matter what, I should remember it. I think..._" he shook his head impatiently, "_no, I __**know**__ he was trying to warn me of what was to come without saying it specifically._"

"_What was it he told you?_" Neytiri asked warily, very unsure of how to take this.

"_He told me that sometimes, the sawtute employ a strategy of war where, like a spoilt child they poke at a hornet's nest until they are stung, then go crying to their leaders that the nest must be destroyed for the good of all, that it is volatile and will hurt others, and so their leaders send out their warriors in force, feeling that they are justified in their actions._"

"_And we are the hornets,_" Neytiri breathed, "_and utral aymokriyä was their poke into our nest to make us attack first._"

Tsu'tey nodded. "_Had I not been so angered I would have remembered his words sooner, and then who will know what may have happened,_" he sighed. "_Now we are in a war which has become inevitable, and I can only hope I remember enough of what he told me of tawtute tactics to be able to try to guess what they might do next._"

"_Are you trying to tell me you would actually forgive his actions?_" Neytiri stared at him, amazed.

"_Forgive...no, not yet,_" Tsu'tey said, "_but I think perhaps I understand better that he did not betray us quite the way he seemed to, or at least, he tried to mitigate that betrayal as he learned more of what it was to be one of the People. He told me many things in the past couple of weeks about tawtute tactics of war and politics, although he often said that he had never been highly placed enough to know all that they did or planned. It was as though he knew what might be coming but knew also that had he revealed all he knew he may no longer be trusted._"

Neytiri tried to take all this in, rubbing subconsciously at her arms as she thought. How could it be that Tsu'tey was being more understanding of her own _muntxatan _than she was? Her sadness and confusion must have shown in her face, because Peyral reached out and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"_He would not have chosen you as his mate if he did not think you could understand,_" she said.

All of a sudden the memory of their shared dream came crashing down over Neytiri again, and it was as though a dam had burst. The anger she had been clutching like a log which, madly spinning, floated down the rapids of a river evaporated and all that was left was her grief and an intense feeling of loneliness which she knew she had brought upon herself through lack of trust. She turned her face to hide it against Peyral's shoulder as the shameful tears began to flow, and Peyral put her arm comfortingly around her shoulders.

"_Go,_" she heard her friend tell Tsu'tey, "_I will soothe her and put her to bed. You have other duties...Olo'eyktan._"

* * *

Locked in the Hell's Gate brig it was impossible to tell how much time had passed, but Jake estimated he, Grace and Norm had been in there at least an hour when Tommy was thrown in with them, his right arm in a sling and bruises beginning to bloom on various parts of his neck and shoulders where they were visible under the loose sweatshirt he was wearing.

"So what happened to you?" Jake raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Tom shook his head, "He...made me watch. I lost my temper. Let's just leave it at that."

Jake just shook his head.

"At least I took out four guards and got in a couple good hits on him before he took me out," Tom sighed, "I could've done better but spending so much time in link..."

"Mom'd rip you a new one," Jake sighed, "after she got done patting you on the back for managing four. You're out of practice."

Norm looked between the two of them, confusion clear on his face.

"It's okay Norm," Tom mustered a smile for him, "I'll tell you all about it later." He turned back to Jake, his expression showing the worry he'd been trying to hide.. "_Is Ninat safe?_" he asked, shifting into their own private language so the guard just outside their door wouldn't know what he was asking about.

Jake looked away. "_I...don't know, Tom, I'm sorry,_" he said, "_things went all to hell down there when they found out I'd known about the dozers, and they had me and Grace tied up before I could stop them. I have no idea what happened to her, although Cathy did manage to get the kids out; that much I do know._"

"_I...if she isn't alright, he's going to have a lot to answer for,_" Tom's expression hardened.

Grace watched as Norm looked between the two of them, not following their conversation at all. It almost sounded like they were speaking English except...it obviously wasn't English. He turned to Grace. "So...there's something I've been wondering," he asked quietly, "what _did_ happen at the school?"

Jake and Tom both turned to look at her as well, and Tom shifted his sling in discomfort. "Cathy told us some of the story, but never the whole thing," he said, "we probably should have asked before..."

"...but it never seemed like the right time," Jake finished. "Before we get out of here - and we _are_ going to get out of here somehow - I think it would be good to know the whole story."

Grace looked between "her" three boys and let out a harsh bark of laughter. "I suppose it would give you a better perspective on why the Na'vi, and Eytukan, Mo'at and Neytiri in particular, reacted the way they did to us "sky people" when you arrived," she admitted. She glanced over at the guard sitting in clear earshot outside their door and switched to Na'vi, knowing Jake's comprehension was fair enough by this point that as long as she kept it to small words he wouldn't have any trouble keeping up.

"_I suppose to start it would help you to know that the school was my baby,_" she began, "_I was the first teacher there - the only teacher for nine years until Cathy joined me to help with the younger children. The kids were...amazing. Just like sponges. They picked up the language and anything else we could think of to teach them faster than any _grad student_ I've ever had, and yet they were so innocent. They didn't care that I looked a little strange; to them, I was the teacher who made their days interesting. They all loved me, and they called me "Sa'nok"..._" She had to pause for a second as her breath choked in her throat at the memory. "_It couldn't go on forever, though. As the _dozers_ began making forays into the forest, some of the older children became upset. One of those children was Neytiri's older sister, Sylwanin._" She looked over at Jake, "_I know you've seen the pictures on the _fridge_. The girl who looked a lot like Neytiri in those pictures? That's actually her sister._"

"But...then what happened to..."

"_...to Sylwanin? She stopped coming to school,_" Grace sighed, "_I suppose she thought the protest could change something, that I would be able to speak out on behalf of her people and the company would listen. They thought I had more power than I did,_" she shook her head, "_and I had no power at all. At least, not when it came to saving them. _

"_One day, a month or so after she had stopped coming to school, Sylwanin showed up at the door to the school with a couple of friends. They were all done up in war paint, with panicked expressions on their faces. Before I could even ask what was happening the _sec-ops_ troops arrived. I found out after that they had set a _dozer_ on fire. They must have run to me thinking I could protect them, but what could I do? They gunned her down in the doorway, Jake, and Neytiri saw the whole thing. I tried to get the children out of there, but the soldiers were under orders to deal with any resistance with deadly force if necessary, and to them, even a young adolescent Na'vi seemed tall enough and strong enough to be a threat. They had an amp suit with them, and the driver crashed his way into the school building, slashing with his bayonet. I'm told he was only trying to scare the little children away, but I've never quite believed that. _

"_I had gotten most of the children out, but some of the littlest ones were still trying to escape when he burst inside. Cathy put her arm up to try and stop him - I'm pretty sure it was an instinctive gesture. Even with the carbon reinforcement of her bones, though, she was no match for the bayonet. She almost lost that arm...well, you knew that much. I tried to go to her aid, and that was when I got hit. Three rounds through the upper shoulder and one that clipped my right hip. There are some things - some **pains** that echo back through the link,_" she said, rubbing away the phantom pains that had woken as she told the story, "_there are some things you never forget._"

* * *

Dusk had fallen and the forest was beginning to shimmer with light by the time Pämeya arrived at her destination. It had been a long, hard ride, and she had stopped only once, so Kenet could move to sit in front of her where she could hold onto him better and increase their speed. She had not wanted to be alone in the night, even riding with her children and two extra _fa'li._ She had not wanted to make herself a target to predators. About halfway into her journey she had been joined by another, riderless _pa'li_ who had evidently been driven from _Kelutral_ in deathly fear and sensed his herdmates ahead, but she had not tried to drive the poor creature away, and so she arrived with something of an entourage.

She sent the message to her mount to stop on the outskirts of the clearing and stay there with the others and then she helped a tired but excited Kenet to dismount, following carefully herself as she tried not to wake little Maya who, with that ability only the very young seemed to have, had fallen asleep against her chest an hour before. She held Kenet's hand tightly in hers as she walked toward the _uniltìranyu_ compound. She didn't want him to be startled by the "children" or for there to be any misunderstandings. She very much hoped that at least one of the _uniltìranyu_ was still awake, as she wasn't quite sure how one went about waking them up if they were in their empty sleep. Although she supposed the children might know...

It didn't turn out to be an issue, however. As it happened, Louise was still awake tending to some of her plants, and she got quickly to her feet when she saw Pämeya heading her way.

"_I See you,_" she said with quick politeness, "_although I am surprised to see you here you are of course welcome._"

"_I See you,_" Pämeya replied, "_Ka'tsi, Antsu's mate told me you were troubled by your tree of voices, and there was...trouble at Kelutral..._" She glanced down at her children, not wanting to upset them any more than was necessary. Kenet had been uncharacteristically silent since they left, and it worried her a little. "_Many were taking the children of the clan to safety and I thought to bring mine here, to you, and thus fill two baskets at one river._"

"_Cathy said there might be trouble,_" Louise nodded, "_and yes, I did have rather a bad reaction to the echoes of destruction that passed through our tree, although I'm a little better now. I haven't dared try to link again yet, though,_" she admitted, and Pämeya could see the memory of fear in her eyes. "_You and your children are more than welcome here for as long as you need to stay. It has been a long day I'm sure, and they must be tired. Why don't we go in and sit down. They can rest better on a bed, I'm sure._"

"_Thank you,_" Pämeya smiled.

* * *

As she watched Tsu'tey stride away, Peyral continued to rub Neytiri's shoulder. She could feel the warm, wet tickle of the future _tsahìk_'s tears against her skin, and she couldn't help but feel sad for her. She should have been angry - had been angry with Neytiri for refusing to listen to Jhake when he had revealed what many thought of as his betrayal - but right now she was too tired for anger, and besides, it was clear that Neytiri was punishing herself more than enough right now for that lack of faith in the man who had chosen her.

Finally, when Neytiri's shoulders began to hitch less as her breathing calmed, Peyral leaned over to whisper in her ear. "_He is gone now, Tsmuke, we are alone with none to hear us. Tell me, what is it that troubles you?_"

Neytiri sighed deeply. "_I am sorry to burden you with my sadness when all carry their own sadnesses this day,_" she said, taking a rather formal tone in her embarrassment.

"_You aren't troubling me with it,_" Peyral shook her head, "_tell me._"

"_I will tell you, then,_" Neytiri said, "_but don't regret asking, when I'm done._" She took a deep breath, and then started. "_You know that when a couple mates for the first time they share dreams, and if those dreams are good then their mating is blessed, but if the dreams are bad then they should not become a mated pair, as our great mother knows there is some impediment between them?_"

"_All girls know that from the first time they start to notice boys,_" Peyral teased, but she began to wonder if Neytiri hadn't been right. She really wasn't all that sure she _wanted_ to know exactly what those dreams had been if that was where this conversation was going.

"_I know this is something I should speak only to another mated woman about,_' Neytiri hesitated, _"but no other would understand as you will._"

Peyral sighed, but then she made a decision which would, quite likely, change the path of her life as she had always thought it would run. "_It's alright,_" she said to her friend, "_tell me. It isn't as though I'm ever going to experience such a thing for myself. After all, I have never felt anything other than the love of a sister for any male but Jhake, and he will never be mine, so it is just as likely that no other male will so catch my eye. It's alright,_" she quickly added when she saw Neytiri's surprised expression, "_it is clear to me now that Eywa has other plans for me than a mate and children. I had always rather suspected it would be so._"

Neytiri shook her head at that. "_Never give up hope that there is a mate out there for you somewhere,_" she insisted, "_Eywa may yet have a reward in store for your dedication. But I'm getting away from the topic. I was speaking of dreams._" She frowned and rubbed at her arms. Peyral had shifted so that they were sitting facing each other, and to her great surprise, Neytiri reached out to take her hand and place it around her again. "_Please,_" she said, "_the healers explained to me that my body itches for my mate, and the only thing that has so far brought me any measure of relief was the comfort of your sisterly touch._"

"_Lie down on the moss, then,_" Peyral invited her, "_and I will rub the knots out of your back like we did when we were children while you tell me of dreams._"

"_Thank you._" The flash of Neytiri's grateful smile was reward enough for now as she stretched out on her belly and Peyral began to rub her fingers gently and then more firmly over her back, her knuckles digging into each tight, knotted muscle in turn as she worked her way down.

"_In our dreams we were happy,_" Neytiri began, "_We had beautiful children, and they were the light of our lives, but it is the first dream, the part which I had almost forgotten, which is the most important. The first dream was, I am beginning to think, a message from Eywa of a different sort, because even though the mating dreams are glimpses of a pair's future together, this one..._"

She shook her head and Peyral clicked her tongue scoldingly, telling her to lie still

"_In the first dream, we rode on the back of Toruk,_" Neytiri whispered. "_but that cannot be so._"

Peyral stroked her shoulders more gently and sighed. "_I am no tsahìk-trained,_" she said, "_nor have I ever claimed any greater understanding of the will of Eywa than what the forest tells the hunter inside me, but it seems to me that if there is any of this generation, of this time, who would be able enough and insane enough to attempt to ride Toruk it is Jhake. He is a stubborn man, Neytiri, you and I both know this. One way or another, with or without the blessing of the clan, he will try to return to you. No matter what else may be said of him, it is clear to any who paid any kind of attention that he loves you beyond life itself._"

"_And I love him,_" Neytiri admitted; too tired now, Peyral thought, for anything but the most bare of truths, "_even though I know I should not. Even though I am still so very angry with him it cannot make me stop loving him, and it hurts._"

"_I know,_" Peyral sighed, stopping her massage, as she knew better than to continue when Neytiri's body was filled with so much released sadness already, and lying down beside her instead, "_I know you still love him. If I did not know that I would have fought you for him tonight. You are my friend, Neytiri. You have been my friend since we were children and you will always be my friend, but Jhake... I love him and want only what will bring him happiness, and I will defend him to the death if he calls upon me to do so._" She wrapped her arms around Neytiri and pulled the other girl close, "_Come. If my touch soothes you a little then let me hold you so that you may sleep tonight. This, too, I do for Jhake. He would not want you to suffer alone because of the treachery of the sawtute that keeps him from you._"

"_Thank you,_" Neytiri let out a hiccuping sigh and rolled onto her side to cuddle up close against Peyral, remembering the many nights she, Ninat and Peyral had spent like this as children, shuffled as a threesome from _nivi_ to _nivi_ as their respective parents traded "mated nights" alone. She only wished Ninat was here as well. Her heart went out to her lost age-sister and her last thought as she fell into an uneasy sleep was that she hoped Ninat's trial would be over soon.

* * *

**Poor Neytiri. I always felt rather bad for her, because I knew that in between screaming at Jake to go away and his triumphant return on toruk, she must have calmed down enough to think more lucidly about what had happened and be aware enough to be very conflicted. What can I say, they're going to have a lot to talk about when he returns to her.**

**And now, on to more important things than my rambling...**

**Vocab:**

_**sanhì **_**- in this case, bioluminescent dots, but can also mean stars**  
_**Kelutral **_**- Hometree**  
_**Vitrautral**_** - Tree of Souls**  
_**nivi **_**- hammock**  
_**yawne**_** - beloved**  
_**tsaheylu **_**- the bond**  
_**tawtute / sawtute **_**- sky person/people**  
_**'evi**_** - child, affectionately (probably "kid" or "little one")**  
_**tsahìk **_**- spiritual leader of a clan**  
_**uniltìranyu **_**- dreamwalker, avater**  
_**txon lefpom**_** - "Good night"**  
_**ayikran **_**- banshees (plural)**  
_**utral aymokriyä**_** - Tree of Voices**  
_**muntxatan **_**- male mate, husband**  
_**Olo'eyktan**_** - clan leader**  
_**Sa'nok**_** - mother**  
_**pa'li / fa'li**_** - direhorse(s)**  
_**Tsmuke**_** - sister**  
_**Toruk**_** - Last Shadow, apex areal predator  
**


	33. Chapter 32: Moments of Song

**Woohoo! Another chapter for you all! I know you've all been waiting, some more patiently than others ^_~ but hey, at least you get a nice MASSIVE chapter out of it. Once again, I almost should have split this, but there wasn't a good place to do it, and so my longest chapter yet for this fic is released upon the world. **

**I hope you all enjoy it (if you American readers aren't in too much of a turkey coma and/or too busy shopping XD ) and I'll see you all on the flipside of November. And don't worry, more Histories is definitely coming too, but editing it has fallen by the wayside in favour of writing like a fiend for NaNo**

**

* * *

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Brotherhood Chapter 32: Moments of Song

It was quite late when Cathy finally unlinked, and she was surprised, when she looked around, to realize all three of the other residents of Site 12 were still in link. Frowning she slipped on an exopack and headed outside to the avatars' bunkhouse to find out what they were doing. Today, of all days, she needed to speak to them before she went to sleep. They needed to know what had happened today, before they got misinformation from some other source.

She was all the more surprised, then, when she reached the bunkhouse and found not only her three colleagues, but a Na'vi woman and two sleeping children as well.

"_Oel ngatì kameie,_" she gestured politely, only slightly impeded by the mask of her exopack, "_It is good to see you safe, when so much has happened this day. You likely don't recognise this body, but I am Ka'tsi, mate of Antsu, of the singers._"

"_Oel ngatì kameie Ka'tsi,_" the woman replied, "_I am Pämeya, one of the midwives of the Omatikaya clan. It is good to meet you, even in this small, strange body._" She smiled, "_After all, perhaps someday you may need my services as well._"

"_Perhaps,_" Cathy blushed, then she shook her head, "_I...I need to speak to all of you, to tell you what happened today..._" Her voice started to shake, and the sight of the children sleeping so innocently on the bed was too much. She broke down in tears and her knees went weak. Carlos caught her and picked her up like she weighed nothing at all, setting her on another of the beds and carefully patting her shoulder.

"It was bad then, I take it?" he whispered to her.

She nodded, taking a deep breath before lifting her mask to wipe her eyes. She settled it back down in place and shook her head. "_They...they brought down Hometree,_" she finally managed to choke out, "_we got the children out safely but not... not everyone made it..._"

Pämeya's eyes went wide in shock. "_They...but how could they..._"

Cathy just shook her head. "_They are capable of almost anything when they put their minds to it; particularly when they do not truly understand the horror of what they do._"

Louise sighed. "_It has always been this way with our people, to be both smart and incredibly stupid at the same time - to be blind and to see too clearly._"

"_Is..._" Pämeya started; then she stopped herself. "_I will not ask after each person I care about,_" she said, "_you likely do not know for sure who made it out alive and who has not, and you look troubled enough by what you have seen this day._"

"_I lost my home just as surely as any other there did,_" Cathy admitted quietly, "_and many I considered friends, but one...well, two..._" She looked over at Taka. "Ninat and Tom's avatar are...I hesitate to think they are gone, but... He had unlinked and obviously been prevented from linking up again and she refused to leave or let us touch the body to move it. I know this sounds stupid and crazy but Neytiri had said they were being tested by Eywa, and because of that I'm almost positive they're still alive somewhere under there, but as to how we'll ever get them out..."

* * *

After Grace's story, a sombre sort of silence had fallen over the group in the brig. Norm was stretched out on one bunk, Tom on the other, with Grace perched on the edge and Jake in his 'chair in between staring at the far wall. None of them were even close to sleep, although they likely should have been trying to rest - it had been a hideously long and difficult day, emotionally as well as physically - but somehow the thought of sleep was just...wrong.

At first, they studiously ignored the sound of the outer door opening, but then there was a familiar voice. What on earth was _Trudy_ doing here...?

* * *

Ten minutes before, in a different part of the compound, Max Patel had come to a decision. Grace had asked him, before all this went down, what side he would be on if it came to a war, and he'd been thinking about the question in the back of his mind ever since. What side would he be on, indeed? It seemed like it should be an obvious question, after all, the Na'vi were the innocents in all this, but at the same time, to turn his back on humanity...it wasn't as though scientific exploration was the only reason they were here on Pandora after all, there was also unobtanium, and right now, right or wrong, it was needed on Earth. Would he doom humanity to rioting and chaos if he was in some way responsible for cutting off the supply?

But then he had looked outside at the massive hole of a mine, and thought about the many miners who never made it home, or didn't get to enjoy home when they did get there. The RDA might cover it up, but he knew the statistics for life expectancy of Pandoran miners, and he knew just how much the company used up men and spat them out when it was done with them. Sure the pay was great, but what use was it when you'd never be around to use it, and the company had a shitty record of payout on death benefits...

As a scientist, he had connections to other scientists, including the geologists, and as such, he was quite fully aware that there were much better ways to mine, and even other places within this system that could be mined for enough unobtanium to keep Earth going for years, even decades, they just weren't as...profitable. The idea that only on Pandora could this "miraculous" mineral be found was just yet one more lie perpetrated by the company upon the people of Earth, mostly because asteroid mining with drones would have seriously cut into the RDA's profit margins.

No, the best way to help humanity as a whole, now, was to align himself firmly against the company. Because ultimately if they kept on the road they were following Pandora would become a wasteland too, and even if his focus was neuroscience, there were enough similarities between the neural network of a brain and the network that had been hypothesized to exist on Pandora that he was able to truly understand what was at risk of being destroyed, and he couldn't even begin to guess what potential solutions to human problems would be lost with the forest if it was allowed to be destroyed.

Having come to a decision, though, Max was a little bit at a loss as to what to do next. He knew he had to get Grace out of the brig, but how? And once he had her and the others out, how would he get them to safety off-base? He was completely stumped for a minute, and then he remembered...

"Trudy."

* * *

Taka reached over to Cathy and gently rubbed her back. "Don't worry about it for now," he said, "you need to get some rest. I'm sure you'll have a busy day tomorrow and after today..." He shook his head sadly, "frankly, you look wrung out and done in and I can't say I'm surprised. Go in and try to get what sleep you can, we'll figure out how we can help."

"I don't know if I _can_ even sleep, but I guess I'll have to try," she sighed, shaking her head. "There's no point wearing myself out again. And after all the hard work I'd been doing trying to recover and take downtime...all that wasted effort," she laughed, and even she could tell there was the edge of hysteria in that laugh. She wanted to be back with Antsu, she didn't want to have to return to this stupid, useless, lonely body anymore. She just wished there was some way around it, but as of yet she'd never heard of one, so this was what she was left with, and it would just have to do.

Pämeya spoke up then. "_If you were in your other body and worried for your dreams, I would know the herbs to give, but in this body... Do tawtute herbs for sleep exist?_"

Taka blinked and then slapped his forehead. "Of course! _That's a very good idea,_" he nodded to Pämeya. "Cathy, you go inside, I'll unlink for a minute and meet you in there. I have some sleep meds that won't interfere with you linking back up tomorrow. Used to have bad dreams, but those seem to have gone away," he glanced over at Louise with a smile.

"Sounds wonderful," Cathy sighed, "_It was good to meet you, Pämeya,_" she said with a faint smile, "_I hope we can meet again under better circumstances when you meet up with the clan at Vitrautral._"

"_I hope so also,_" Pämeya placed a careful hand on her shoulder, "_sleep well and deeply, so that your heart may begin to heal from this day._"

"_And you also,_" Cathy nodded as she turned to go back inside.

* * *

Trudy was alone in her room when the knock came at the door. Alone, and far more sober than she'd wanted to be this evening. She'd thought she'd be able to lounge around with Jaime and get drunk - he'd provided the tequila, after all, but after she'd grabbed it from him he'd gotten a funny look on his face and told her she might want to make sure she could fly tonight. Why the hell he thought she'd be going anywhere...

Not that she didn't think the idea of heading somewhere was bad, necessarily... She'd just been thinking she should go surprise Norm in his room. It was getting late, after all, it wasn't like there were tons of people wandering the hallways...and then, of course, the lack of people in the hall was proved wrong, because clearly there was someone there. She hauled herself off her bed and opened the door with a scowl, which changed to a look of confusion as she saw Max standing there.

"You're up kinda late, aren't you?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"I had a lot on my mind," he said, looking around nervously, "look...can I come in? I have to talk to you about something, and it's kindof..."

Trudy rolled her eyes and shrugged. The sooner she dealt with whatever it was he wanted, the sooner she could sneak off to find Norm's room and pretend, just for a little while, that their world wasn't going all to hell. She backed away from the door and Max was inside like a flash. He actually moved pretty quick for a slightly tubby sciencey type.

"I need your help," Max said as soon as the door was closed, "and I really hope I'm not making a mistake in coming to you, but you're the only pilot I could think of, and there's no other way to get them off-base except by air, so..."

"Who's them, and why do they need to get off-base?" Trudy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Grace," Max said, "after what happened at Hometree today she, Jake, Tom and Norm got thrown in the brig. I'm pretty sure Selfridge plans to send them home tomorrow on the shuttle..."

"Shit." Trudy swore. Then she repeated herself a few times for good measure, "Shit, shit, shit! Well, I guess you've got yourself a pilot. Can't let bullshit like that go down!" She just hoped the techs had finished fixing the gyros. She had a self-fixit program that went along with her sabotage one, but she didn't really want to have to risk it, not on such a desperate mission and in the middle of the night. At least it was highly unlikely Quaritch would send anyone after her right away. The last thing he wanted to do was lose more pilots and gunships trying to fly through the mountains at night.

* * *

When Taka sat back up after unlinking to help Cathy to bed he sighed. "_She looked completely wrung out,_" he said, "_she passed out almost immediately. About Tom and Ninat, though...I have a thought. I know it sounds crazy, but I can't help but agree with Cathy. If Neytiri said Eywa was testing them, the chances are very high that they're still alive. The only trouble is; how do we find people trapped under such a place._"

Ama interrupted then, putting her front paws up on the bed next to Taka and extending one _tswin_ to him.

"Yes, baby? What is it?" he asked, making _tsaheylu_ with her.

«_Why auntie Cathy is sad?_» she asked.

"She's sad because today something very sad happened to her and her friends and family," Taka sighed. The _chibi-tachi_ might be smart cookies, but there were some things that even grown-ups didn't understand, and this, he feared, was one of them. Oh, he knew the twisted logic behind it, but he just couldn't see how the logic had become that twisted. "She's sad because she's worried about her friend Tom."

«_Uncle Tom is hurt/sick?_» she made a worried noise, «_Ama purrs at and makes feel better?_»

"He's not hurt or sick, baby," Taka shook his head. Well, he could be, but that wasn't the main problem, "he's trapped underground and we don't know how to get him out."

«_Oh! Daddy is so silly,_» Ama said, and Taka could almost hear the amused snort in her mental voice, «_Ama and Tsuki and Sano can smell/taste/sense for him! We have better smell and taste and sense than Daddy, find prey first all the time, can find friends too._»

Taka blinked in surprise. Of course! Why hadn't he thought of it before? The thanator's senses were far superior to his, even in his far more sensitive avatar body. He worried a little bit about bringing such young minds into an area of devastation, but...

«_It will be okay to show us sad things, Daddy,_» Ama must have caught the edges of the worry he was trying to keep separate from what he was sharing with her, «_We have Daddy and Mommy and uncle Carlos to keep us happy, and we will find uncle Tom and then we will be even more happier._»

"Okay," he nodded, "then that's what we'll do. You go tell your brother and sister, and uncle Carlos and I will get ready."

«_Okay Daddy,_» Ama disengaged from him and darted away to have a deep discussion with her siblings.

"So what have I been volunteered for?" Carlos asked.

"We're going to Hometree...to where it was," Taka said, "and the _chibi-tachi_ are coming with us. They can sense things we can't, and they'll hopefully be able to find Tom and Ninat, even under the ground."

"Right," Carlos nodded. "Well, if there's going to be any kind of digging involved, you're gonna need an engineer, and that's me, so I guess I'm in." He sighed, "It won't be the first recovery mission I've been on. I can handle it, and between the two of us we'll just have to make sure the babies can handle it too."

* * *

The wait while Trudy went into the room with their commandeered meal tray was excruciating for Max, and although he strained to hear what was going on, he could only catch the edges of it.

"Max!" she called, and he was around the corner in a flash. His first instinct was to go to the keypad on the door and start typing in any access code he could think of, but Norm quickly corrected him.

"No, no, no," he said quickly, "You need a card!"

"There's a card-key," Grace explained.

Well shit. Card key. Where would a military grunt like that guy keep a card key? He looked around the room quickly. Maybe in the desk drawer? As he bent over to look he heard the snick of Trudy using the guard's binders on himself, and then another, horrific sound...the banal "ding" of the elevator announcing its arrival...right outside the outer Perspex door.

Norm's "oh shit!" pretty much summed up Max's reaction to that as well, but Trudy moved like lightning, out the door and across the hall almost before he'd even had time to think of what they should do, and certainly before the man standing just inside the elevator door was aware of the danger he was in or had a chance to cry out.

Max redoubled his efforts to find the key - how hard could it be in such a small room? It had to be somewhere logical!

"It's not over there," Grace corrected, "I think he has it around his neck."

Well of course, how stupid could one slightly portly scientist be, he scolded himself and quickly moved around the desk to the unconscious body of the guard. He was reaching down to roll him over just enough to check around his neck when the man groaned and began to stand up. Damnit no! What was he supposed to do? He wasn't the military part of the equation here! Then some instinctive, primal part of him took over and his hand reached for the coffee thermos almost without thinking. One whack to the temple, another to the occipital lobe, and the man was down again, for a good while, this time. Well, after all, he _was_ a neurologist, he knew where to hit the brain to make it crawl away into submission.

He looked down at the shiny silver thermos with a small grin on his face. "Unexpectedly satisfying," he chuckled, quite taken with this new, more feral self. It just goes to show, he thought, what a man is capable of in defence of his friends.

"Max, the door!" all four prisoners chided him in unison, and he blinked.

"Oh shit, sorry," he murmured, his fingers going quickly to pull the key-card from around the now-definitely-unconscious guard's neck.

"C'mon c'mon c'mon!" Tom chanted, nervous excitement clear in his voice, and just as Trudy came back into the room Max's fumbling fingers passed the key-card correctly over the sensor and the door opened.

* * *

Speeding down the corridor as fast as his wheels would carry him, Jake could feel the old instincts kicking in. The gun cold in his hand, the hard clatter of footsteps - each one noted to make sure nobody was following them. Since he was slower, he was acting as rearguard, and so far all the footsteps were in front of him, a good sign. Trudy and Norm had rushed ahead to get the ship fired up and going, and Tom was a little ahead of him with Max and Grace, but his right arm, tucked up in its sling, was obviously paining him. Well, soon enough they'd be in the Sampson and then Tom could relax again. Man, Jake wanted to bust somebody's ass for doing that to his brother!

When they got to the door, Jake reached up to grab Max's arm and shook his head. "You stay here," he said, "you weren't seen, and I need someone on the inside I can trust."

Max nodded. "Okay," he said, and then closed the airlock behind him.

Jake wheeled forward to catch up to Tom and Grace who already had their exopacks on, then slipped his own over his face as Grace hit the button to cycle to Pandoran atmosphere. Tom's discomfort was still clear on his face, but he was doing his best to hide it. As soon as the cycle had passed and the outer door opened they were through, hurrying as quietly as they could toward Trudy's usual "parking spot" where they could see the other two already getting the ship prepped and ready for flight.

The rotors started up just as they drew close, and Jake frowned at Tommy who'd stopped, expecting to help him into the back. "Go," he said, "you're no good to anybody if you make that arm worse trying to haul my useless ass up, get in!"

"Fine," Tom scowled at him, "but at least let me help with my good arm once I'm in." He hopped up and then knelt down on the floor as Jake turned his 'chair to back against the Sampson's skids. He hated to have to do it this way, but he didn't complain as Norm and Grace (but mostly Norm) lifted him up and into the open back where Tom reached out with his good arm and pulled him up over the lip and into the center of the floor.

Norm was halfway in and only Grace was still fully outside fumbling with his wheelchair when the first shots rang out. Jake almost told her to fucking leave it already, but he knew better. He was still going to have to be able to move around, and in this body he was totally useless without the chair. He wouldn't make himself even more of a burden to the others by making them carry him, but damnit...

"I'm taking fire, let's go!" he heard the stress in Trudy's voice as Norm reached out and took the chair from Grace, passing it inside and then grabbing her arm, pulling her up and in off the skid as the tiltrotor helicopter began to lift into the air.

"Alright they're in, let's go," he called to Trudy, grabbing onto one of the dangling straps with one arm and making sure he had a good grip on Tom with the other, since his brother couldn't get a very good grip with only one working arm at the moment. Grace had managed to get into a seat, and Norm was standing in the middle against the back wall, well out of range of the hail of bullets...

And then they were out of the hangar and on their way to safety, and well out of range of any gun the colonel might have gotten his hands on. He couldn't help letting out an excited whoop of victory. It had been way too long since he had such an adrenaline rush, certainly in this body, anyway!

"Everyone alright back there?" Trudy asked, laughter and the echoes of adrenaline clear in her voice too.

"Aw yeah, baby!" Jake laughed

At the same time, Tom groaned and said, "Good as I was before, anyway."

"Norm, you good?" Jake turned to the geeky scientist who'd become like a second brother.

"Tchyeah," he said, and Jake could almost hear him rolling his eyes. He'd probably never had such an exciting day in his life before. But then again, it's not every day you get to break out of jail!

He was quickly brought down to earth (Pandora?) though as he turned to check on Grace. She had a hand against her side and a pained expression on her face, and then she pulled her hand away to reveal that it was covered in blood. "Oh, not again," she whispered, gritting her teeth in obvious pain, "this is going to ruin my whole day!"

* * *

They had set out soon after putting Cathy to bed, deciding to ride through the night even though it would mean extra time spent in-link. Neither one had been up early, though, and both had unlinked at various points during the day, so in these extreme circumstances, they had made the decision that the risk would be worth it.

Taka had ridden a direhorse before, although not at night certainly, and not for such a long distance, but Carlos never had. Even so, he was doing remarkably well, and hadn't fallen off even once. Luckily neither one of their horses had any issue with their slightly inexperienced riders, and Pämeya had convinced them not to be bothered by the presence of the thanator cubs and given them the instruction to "return home" so literally all Taka and Carlos had to do was direct them as to what speed to go and hang on for the ride.

The two of them, then, were doing alright, but what Taka was most impressed by was how the _chibi-tachi_ were doing. The difference between their fitness now and when he'd first found them, starving and on the edge of death, was simply amazing. They were bounding along beside the horses in a tireless movement - no, perhaps "bounding" was the wrong word, he admitted as he watched them, their movement was more like the flow of dark water over the ground, incredibly fluid and smooth, even though the ground they were passing over was not.

He was distracted for a short while by the need to hold on more tightly to his ride as they passed over a rough area, and when he glanced at the cubs again he caught sight of something else out of the corner of his eye. It almost looked like there were shadows moving through the bushes alongside them, but... He shook his head. It must just be a trick of the light, or his eyes getting tired. How could there be shadows when the world was full of so much bioluminescence. He was about to shout over to Carlos to see if the other man could see the shadows too or if they were only in his mind when he caught sight of a purplish-black head peeking out through a break in the leaves. Not shadows...shadowcats! He'd never seen them in all the time he'd been here on Pandora, and only heard rumours of them. In fact, none of the biologists or zoologists had seen any, they only knew of them from what the Na'vi had told them.

Knowing what to look for now, he watched in amazement as the two small creatures (which he only managed to catch tiny glimpses of) moved through the underbrush, their passage marked by a patch of darkness probably three times their size, which spread out in front of them and faded away behind them, and wondered what possible biological mechanism they had to effect such a remarkable camouflage. He had no doubt that had they not been moving so fast and thus making the shadow they cast seem to move more than a shadow ought, he never would have seen them at all.

When they called a brief halt to let their horses rest and to gather themselves before they arrived at the area of devastation (the smoke from which they were already beginning to smell) the little animals continued on, and Taka quickly lost track of them in the underbrush. Although he could have sworn he saw one final waving swish of a tail just before they disappeared. He shook his head. It was all in his imagination...it had to be.

* * *

By the time they arrived in the mountains, Grace was looking very pale, and Tom was more than worried about her. They had to get her help somehow - none of them had anything more than basic first aid - and more than that, they had to get somewhere safe where Colonel McHappypants couldn't find them. To that end, they had decided to move only the link module from the site, and Trudy and Norm (in his avatar) had worked with surprising efficiency together to attach cables while he and Jake moved anything they might need that was in the hab-mod - like the food fridge and a good store of filtered water, not to mention blankets, pillows and the trauma kit for Grace. He tended to her as Jake talked to the other two over the two-way radio, checking on her bandages and sorting through the far-too-sparse trauma kit for anything that could be of use to keep her well until they could get her to some sort of healer.

At least the kit had two doses of morphine. That should relieve the worst of the pain and keep her sleeping while they moved. He took one out and was about to inject her when she raised a shaky hand and placed it over his. "You need it too," she said in a firm but breathy whisper.

"All I need is ice," he shook his head, "I've already had a shot of painkiller earlier when they put my arm back in place. You need this more than me right now."

"Okay," she sighed, "but only the one. You keep the other one for when you'll need it later. Don't waste it all on me."

While she was talking, Jake had taken the dosi-pen from him and pressed it firmly into her upper arm, solving the argument without any further messing around.

"Ouch," she complained, obviously struggling to stay her usual "grumpy" self.

"Big baby," Tom patted her shoulder above where the meds had been injected.

"We're moving?" she asked, and Tom, too, could feel the link-mod swaying beneath their feet.

"We're gonna get you some help, Grace," Jake said, checking on her bandages again before pulling the blanket up over her, tucking her in like a child.

"I'm a scientist, remember?" she coughed roughly, "I don't believe in fairy tales."

Jake shook his head. "The People can help you, Grace, I know it," he insisted.

"Why would they help us?" she asked, the self-loathing she'd been trying to suppress for too long clear now in her voice, her exhaustion and pain not letting anything stay hidden.

"We'll find a reason," Tom insisted, "now sleep. When you wake up we'll have a whole new view out the window."

She sighed, and her eyes closed, the morphine granting her a measure of relief, at least for now.

Once they were sure she was asleep, Tom gestured toward the other end of the module with his chin, and Jake followed him down the narrow corridor until they reached the link unit Norm was currently using. Tom sat on top of the fridge, and Jake stopped in front of him, and the two of them looked at each other with deadly serious expressions for a couple of minutes in complete silence before Tom finally broke it.

"So what's the plan, Jake?" he asked, "I know you must have one."

"I've got some ideas," Jake shook his head, "but a lot of it's gonna depend on where I am when I wake up." He grinned then, and Tom could tell it was only partly forced. "I know what you're gonna do."

"I'm going to make sure she's safe," Tom nodded, frowning, "after that, I think I need to start doing some training katas in my avatar...It occurs to me that I've been spending a lot of time sitting on my _txìm_ in the last few weeks.

Jake just shook his head. "Look, man, as your older brother by fifteen minutes _and_ as the one who's already married, I guess you could say, lemme give you some advice. Take your chance while you have it. Don't leave the poor girl hanging any longer than you already have. I remembered something, you know. When I went in the second time, when Grace and I were trying to get them to evacuate, Neytiri told me Ninat was still with you and she wouldn't move, or let anybody move your avatar. I don't know what happened about it, 'cause shortly thereafter I got my ass handed to me when they found out what a mess I'd made of things for them, but there's a really good chance..." He looked away, "Just...if you get your chance with her, don't friggin' waste it, okay?"

"I won't," Tom sighed. "I promise I won't." He closed his eyes, not wanting Jake to see the pain he was sure was shining through them. Why hadn't she tried to get herself to safety? He didn't even care about his avatar; that concern was a far second if she wasn't going to be there when he opened those eyes again. He wondered what would happen if he tried to link up and there was no living avatar on the other end to receive his "signal". He shook his head. He supposed he'd find out soon enough.

"Good," Jake nodded. "Now, since I actually know what the heck I'm talking about, I'd better give you a few pointers about how to make a girl happy when you're ten feet tall and blue, if you know what I mean."

"Damnit Jake, I don't need to hear the details!" Tom's eyes snapped open again.

"Ha! That got you outta your funk," Jake grinned, "I won't give you the play-by-play, but there's a few things you really oughtta know."

"Alright, I'm listening," Tom sighed, settling in, "it's not like there's anything else to do while we're dangling here like some kind of cargo container."

* * *

Ninat was dreaming. She came to the realization late in the dream, and with that came the secondary realization that this dream was very much like her _uniltaron_ over again. Once again she was _täftxuk_, this time swimming in the lake with her mate looking for shellfish and the aquatic cousins of _kali'weya_ which made such good eating as long as you bit off their stinger first, but when she surfaced from a dive, all of a sudden her mate wasn't there. She waited for him to come up, paddling along the surface, but when his breath should have been exhausted and he still hadn't risen from the depths she started to really worry. Perhaps something on-shore had caught his attention, and he hadn't had a chance to signal to her that he was leaving before tracking whatever it was. She headed over to the shore herself, shaking to shed the worst of the water and flaring her frill as she searched for any trace of him. She almost thought she could sense his trail heading off to the south.

It seemed like she walked forever following the faintest teasing hints of her mate's scent, and slowly, worry was beginning to give way to her natural curiosity and a sense of anticipation. Where could he possibly be leading her? What did he want to show her? For she was convinced he _was_ leading her somewhere...

His scent finally began to get stronger, as though she was finally closing in on him, and she looked around with a twinge of the fear coming back as she realized she was standing in a clearing with a very strange massive metal box...the metal things were bad!

It was at that point that her Na'vi self awoke to the dream and looked out through her _täftxuk_ self's eyes. She still saw the "metal box" but now it was familiar; it looked very much like the place where Ka'tsi _tsmuke_'s _tawtute _body rested, the place she had seen when they stopped to visit on their way to the Anurai. It was in boxes like this that the _uniltìranyu_ lived and laid down in their special machines to send their souls out to their _uniltìrantokx_. No _wonder_ she had followed his scent here! She tried to get into a position where she could see in the windows along the side, but just as she had found what seemed like the perfect angle, the dream faded away.

As soon as she opened her eyes, the first thing she did was to glance over at Tom to check if he had awakened...but no, he still slept in stillness, his breathing slow and regular, his _sanhì_ faint. Somehow, though, she almost felt as if something about him had changed, just a minute change, but it was enough. He would awaken soon, she was sure of it. He was out of the clutches of the _sawtute_ in any case. The dream had to be telling her that.

She stretched and looked around, although of course in the darkness of their enclosed den she could see very little. She did think she saw...but no, she rubbed at her eyes and the points of light were gone. For a second there it had almost seemed like she saw the markings of _täftxuk_ against the far wall...she must still be half-dreaming. She shook her head and crawled over to where she had stored the food and water. She would eat just a little, and drink a little, and prepare herself for Tom to wake.

* * *

In the morning, Louise woke to find that either Carlos and Taka hadn't slept at all, or they hadn't slept very long. They were both in link, and Cathy had linked up as well. They looked fine when she checked on their vitals, though, so she quickly ate and prepped her own link bed. She had that faintly uneasy feeling of having overslept on an important day, and she wanted to get into link quickly. She knew somehow that she was going to be needed as well, and she wondered if in their hurry to leave the night before, the boys had remembered to take a trauma kit with them...

As she stretched and awoke in her avatar body, Louise took stock of the now-familiar sense of dizziness that greeted her on sitting up. No major change from yesterday. When she moved to get out of bed, though, she was surprised by a cheeky little face.

"_Good morning!_" Pämeya's son Kenet greeted her, "_Sa'nu told me to watch you until you woke and then tell her. She said she has tea for you, she's outside. What happened to the palukan babies? Where did they go? I promised we would play and Ama was going to maybe let me try to ride on her she said! But I can't find them this morning. I didn't ask Sa'nu though,_" he admitted. "_Maybe she wouldn't want me trying to ride Ama..._"

Louise couldn't help but laugh. "_Ama and Tsuki and Sano left last night with the other two uniltìranyu,_" she explained, "_but I'm sure when they meet you again they will want to play. They always want to play._" She stood carefully, and when she was sure she wasn't going to fall over she smiled at Kenet. "_Will you bring me to where your mother is, now?_"

"_Okay,_" he nodded, taking her hand and almost dragging her with him. "_You slept a loooong time. I've been awake since the sun came up and Sa'nu too...and Maya, but Maya likes to wake up really early, Sempu says she wakes up too early. She crawled around on you like she does on Sempu but you didn't wake up and Sa'nu made her stop it. Why didn't you wake up? I would've thought it would be really annoying having a little girl climbing all over you!_"

"_Kenet!_" Pämeya scolded her son as she saw them come outside, "_Luuisì is going to be a mother; she doesn't need you dragging her off-balance like that._"

"_Sorry Sa'nu,_" he slowed down, giving Louise a contrite look.

"_It's alright, it wasn't bothering me,_" Louise smiled, "_your son is very well-behaved for his age._"

"_Come, I have food for you, and tea, and then we should sort out what we will do with the day. Kenet, why don't you run and play in the field, but stay within sight._"

"_Yes, Sa'nu,_" Kenet dashed away with the abundance of energy found in all children, Na'vi or human.

Louise laughed as she watched him go, then went to sit on one of the logs Pämeya had arranged around the improvised outside firepit Carlos had set up when he was bored one afternoon. Clearly she was much more familiar with cooking in this manner than trying to figure out the stove. Well, of course she would be, Louise shook her head. She forgot sometimes the differences between their cultures when the Na'vi came out here to visit her. It would be harder to forget had they been at Hometree.

"_How are you feeling this morning?_" Pämeya asked as she poured tea into a cup and handed it to her (she clearly understood the china cupboard much better than she did the stove)

"_Much more myself,_" Louise smiled, "_hungry... And worried for my family,_" she sighed.

"_As am I,_" Pämeya admitted, "_I do not quite know what to say to Kenet about what Ka'tsi told us last night. Maya is too young still to truly understand,_" she glanced over to where her little daughter was sitting on the other side of the logs playing with some sticks and string, "_but Kenet... He will understand only that something horrible has happened, and will ask me why, and I cannot explain it in words he will know...I do not fully understand it myself._"

Louise watched the little boy playing, and sighed again. "_I know,_" she said, "_My little ones...they are not so much more mature than your son and they are going there - are probably there now, among the bodies, trying to find those who live..._"

Pämeya reached over and put an arm around her, pulling her into a comforting hug. "_They really are your children, aren't they?_"

"_They really are,_" Louise smiled, "_I know it seems strange, but to me, the day they came to us - the day Taka was led to them and we brought them home - I took on the duties of their mother, even though before that I would have only considered them animals, pets, at the very most. It is amazing what tsaheylu shows us._"

"_It is amazing,_" Pämeya agreed, handing her a plate of food, "_now eat, drink your tea, and then we will talk about what we will do with the day._"

Louise settled in and started eating, watching the world around her. It was a beautiful day, and if she hadn't known what had happened the day before, she would never have suspected such beauty could exist after such horror. It wasn't right. She knew it wasn't right, and she also knew, as she put down her now-empty cup and plate, that she couldn't just sit here and do nothing about it.

"_We should go,_" she said, "_I know you just got here, and I appreciate what you've done for me in coming here to make me well again, but...it's not right for me to stay here when my mate and children are going to help. I'm still early enough along that a pa'li ride won't hurt me, right? I know you said I don't have to worry about things like that until at least the second quarter of time and more likely the third quarter._"

"_It will not put you in danger, no, but to go to such a place...are you sure? You should not feel a need to do that._"

"_It is the least of what I can do to even begin to repay the openness with which the Omatikaya have treated me. And to think that this horror was done by those I once considered my kind...I do not even think they are truly _human_ to be able to do such a thing,_" she shook her head, "_I do not want to claim any part of them._" She smiled a crooked smile at Pämeya. "_If you do not agree to take me I will go on my own when you are sleeping. I can be stubborn like that._"

That made the midwife laugh. "_Truly, then, you are like a sister. My mate always tells me I am too stubborn as well. He did not like the idea of me coming to you when the clan was in so much danger, but he knew that telling me to stop would do no good._" She looked over to where her son was playing, "_pack what you think you will need, and I will prepare the children to ride again. We will not take such a fast pace as your mate but if we wish to reach Kelutral before dark we need to leave very soon._"

"_I will get everything ready,_" Louise nodded, getting to her feet. Even though she knew she was probably going into a scene resembling Hell, she felt better doing something, rather than sitting in safety and peace when she knew she might be able to do something to help.

* * *

"...so seriously though, Jake, what's your plan?" Norm asked as he prepped the two link beds that were empty (Grace slept uneasily in the third) so that the twins could go into link and find their avatars...and somehow find a way to regain the trust of the Omatikaya enough that they might find some help for Grace. "Tsu'tey is _Olo'eyktan_ now, you know he's not going to let you near that place."

"I'm curious as well," Tom said, "You weren't very clear in our discussion last night, and then you changed the subject..." And what that subject had been changed to was still making him blush hours later. "So, what're you gonna do?"

"I dunno," Jake grinned at them as he hopped up into the link bed, "probably something stupid..."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Tom rolled his eyes, "what you always do, right? How about something different this time?"

"Well then, something crazy!" he pulled down the cover, letting the link pull his consciousness away.

Tom just rolled his eyes at Norm. "Well," he said, "I guess I'm going in, I don't even know if I have anywhere to go, but if I'm not awake in five seconds then I guess the signs are good."

"Good luck," Norm helped him lie back and arranged him as best he could while being unable to bend his right arm due to the sling and the splint it was covering, "for your sake I hope you aren't awake so quick. I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose my avatar, let alone..." Tom followed his gaze as he glanced out the window where Trudy was hard at work plugging holes in the front windscreen of her Sampson. It could just as easily be any one of them or more than one with bullet holes, not just Grace, and they both knew it.

"Take care of her while we're out there," Tom whispered, and whether he meant the scientist who had become like a second mother to all of them, or the pilot who was like a sister (well, more than that to Norm) he wasn't entirely sure. He closed his eyes as the lid of his link pod closed over him, his mind beginning to stretch out toward his avatar before the neurolink even fully began.

* * *

When he opened his eyes again, all he could see was darkness - a darkness so profound it was blacker than anything he had ever seen here on Pandora. There might be constant talk of "light pollution" back on Earth, and occasionally efforts had been made to find places "unspoiled" by the lights in order to properly observe the heavens at night, but if any human hoped to experience what Earth's nights had once been like by going to Pandora then they could only ever be disappointed... He blinked, or anyway he thought he did, and tried to figure out where he was. had he even left the link pod at all, or were the faint stars he thought he could see actually just a trick of his mind, giving patterns to the tiny cables inside...but no, no if he was in the link pod there would be more light than this, so where... Wait...the stars were moving, he realized. How on earth...

And then he truly "woke up", the fogginess in his mind giving way enough to realise that he recognized the constellation of those "stars"...they were the "stars" that framed the pretty face of...

"Ninat?" he rasped, his throat horribly dry. Well after all, this body had been empty for...he wasn't sure exactly, but more than two days, by this point. It wasn't surprising that he would wake up thirsty and hungry, but more than that he wanted - _needed_ - to know she was alright.

"Tom?" she whispered, and he could feel her hand coming out to try and touch his face, "_Ma Tom! I was so afraid you would never wake again..._"

He groaned as he pushed himself up, "_I am here,_" he said, reaching out for her, following the light of her _sanhì_ to find her shoulders and pull her against him in a desperate hug, "_I am here and I swear to you I'm never going to do anything that stupid again...I'll never leave again._"

* * *

When Jake opened his eyes in his avatar body, his first reaction was to take a deep breath. He almost immediately regretted that, however, when he got a choking lungful of ashes. He was...absolutely covered in them. Nasty! He hauled himself to his feet, taking in the devastation around them with a confused turmoil of emotions. He knew he _shouldn't_ feel as though his home had just been destroyed, but then he thought of everything he'd done here in the last three months, all the happy times with the kids trying to imitate him, the amazing experience of flying for the first time, the stolen glances and then so much more with Neytiri, and he knew. This was - had been - his home, in a deeper way even than Earth now was to him. He and Tom had been military brats, although they moved less than some since Mom wasn't on active duty and Da wasn't military at all, but even so, between Mom getting shuffled to different posts and Da getting moved around constantly in search of tenure, they typically hadn't lived more than a year or two in one city for any real stretch of time. It was nothing like the loss for Neytiri, of course, but he thought that maybe in a very small way he could understand.

Well, there was no point in just standing here, he really ought to get on with his plan. Yes, he actually did have a plan, or one might more properly say he had an idea. The mechanics and logistics of the plan were somewhat lacking, mostly due to the fact that he had no idea if the first thing he was counting on to occur would or not, but the...okay let's just call it a bunch of plan-threads, for lack of a better term...all centered around one thing. _Toruk_. Yeah it was crazy, yeah it was dumb and reckless and would possibly get him killed, but at the same time, he knew it was the only thing that was going to dig the Na'vi out of the hole he'd put them in, and since he was the one that put them there, he was going to have to be the one to get them out.

The clues had all been there, subtle at first, but they became more and more blatant and in-your-face as they went along. Clearly _someone_ (and by "someone" he meant whoever or whatever it was this "Eywa" the Na'vi prayed to was) had a plan for him, and hey, who was he but a grunt used to taking orders. Just this time the orders were coming from a slightly higher power than a Major, a Colonel, or even a General. Poor Quaritch was so outranked he didn't even have any idea whose toes he was stepping on, Jake chuckled to himself.

Of course, it was fairly difficult to "get on with his plan" when he still wasn't sure how to start. He found himself wandering aimlessly in a grey world where his feet sent up puffs of grey ash and his throat choked on the taste of ashes and burning that lingered in the air. The forest would renew, Neytiri had taught him that, but...this was a lot to "renew", and there would neither in his lifetime, nor even in the lifetimes of his grandchildren's grandchildren, be a massive Hometree on this site again. Not even with the speed this forest grew. He sighed. No matter what he might become, right now he was a betrayer, not only of the People, but of himself. What reason would anyone or even any creature have to ever trust him again? He figured he should probably start walking in the direction of the cliff he'd climbed for his _iknimaya_, he had to get above the treetops to find _toruk_, after all, but in the destruction he had lost all his points of reference. He knew he was somewhere near where Hometree had fallen, but he had no idea where, and no clue as to which way to turn to find any hints as to where.

He suddenly heard a fluttering sound behind him, and turned quickly, thinking something might be about to attack him, only to find instead that he was face-to-face with Luke. Perfect! Absolutely perfect! This was exactly what he needed to set his plan into action!

Luke kreeled at him and extended one queue and Jake grinned an almost savage grin. "There's something we've gotta do," he said, stroking his _ikran_'s head before bringing his own queue up to bond, "but you're not gonna like it."

Luke shook out his wings and sent a burst of _"waitedtoolong/takecareofmate/I'mwithyou"_ through their neural connection, and Jake had to laugh.

"I know I took too long, buddy, I know," he smiled as he automatically checked and tightened saddle straps before hopping up onto Luke's back, "but I'm here now, and yeah, we're gonna do what we have to do to take care of Neytiri. Even if she hates me now."

_"feedmate. Make happymate."_ If the _ikran_ had shared human expressions Jake was sure he would have been rolling his eyes.

"I wish it was that simple," he shook his head, then braced himself as they took off with a hard jump into the sky. Taking off from the ground was never easy for _ikran_ and the effort necessary briefly made them pull positive g's before he was up and flapping, making a more casual ascent above the treetops. "We're going after something a little bigger than food, this time."

With a minute mental cue, Jake sent Luke winging off toward the floating mountains, trying to figure out what the fastest way to do this would be. Time was of the essence, after all. _He_ might have all the time in the world to search, but Grace didn't, and right now, that took priority.

_"whatwehunting?"_ Luke asked, his keen eyes scanning the ground below, and Jake hesitated minutely before explaining in the best way he thought he could.

"We're hunting the big red guy," he said, "It's not that I don't think you can carry me," he quickly added as Luke sensed his intent and protested, "I know you can, but I need to do this to show Neytiri I'm serious. Besides, I'm pretty sure it's the only way I'm gonna fix things...There're rules, you know, even for destiny. I've got my orders from Eywa, now I guess I gotta follow them, or die trying." He shrugged, "hey, that's just what Marines do, you know?"

_"partnerheadsick,"_ Luke sighed mentally, _"TreeMotherwantsridebigone?"_

"Exactly," Jake rubbed Luke's neck soothingly, "so we gotta find Big Red. Don't worry, I got a plan that'll keep you safe."

_"if TreeMother says, we mustdo,"_ Luke agreed reluctantly, _"bigonethisway,"_ he banked left and started winging at high speed toward one of the largest mountains, gaining altitude as he went.

"Okay," Jake grinned, the adrenaline beginning to build. This might be stupid, it might be crazy, but damned if it wasn't a hell of a lot of fun! "Once we find him, get above him before he sees you. _Toruk_ is the baddest cat in the sky, after all, so why would he ever look up?"

_"oneneverattacks/manyattack,"_ Luke agreed, sending a mental image of a whole flock of _ikran_ divebombing one _toruk_.

It didn't take long before Jake caught sight of what Luke had evidently already seen or somehow sensed. _Toruk_ was gliding along slightly below the bottom of one of the floating mountains, parallel to a river, its attention solely focused on the ground and the air around it, certainly not on the air above.

As they moved into position ten meters or so above the big bird, Luke let out a nervous "rrawk".

"Easy, boy," Jake soothed, rubbing a hand along Luke's neck to calm him down. He slid his left hand back up to rest lightly on Luke's queue, and holding onto his harness tightly with his right hand, hopped into a "surfer" position on his buddy's back. Luke folded his wings into position for a shallow stoop, and with a rush of wind they descended, right over _toruk_'s back. When the distance had closed to three meters or so, Jake's left hand slid back fully, disengaging his queue from Luke as he rolled slightly to leave Luke's back, keeping his queue held tightly in his hand. He'd almost not gotten Luke because of not making the bond quickly enough, he wasn't about to make that mistake again.

With a heavy "Oof!" he landed right where he'd wanted, in the middle of _toruk_'s back, and before the animal could wonder what had hit it, he scrambled over toward its left queue, braced himself, and linked.

* * *

As soon as dawn had touched the forest floor the Omatikaya had risen and begun their pilgrimage once again, not even waiting to break their fast but eating what could be foraged along the way. Tsu'tey, as the new _Olo'eyktan_, was concerned that they needed to get to a permanent encampment quickly, so that they would be able to then tend to the injured and ensure that no more were lost than the horrific toll they had already paid for their trust...

Yes, he now understood what the _Skx_...what Jake had been trying to tell him, but the man could have been more open about things from the beginning. Tsu'tey wasn't entirely sure it would have changed much, but it could not have made the situation worse, and at least then Neytiri would have known what she was getting into more completely.

He frowned as he glanced over at the woman who would have - should have - been his mate. She was suffering greatly for this, it was clear even to one like him, it was doubtless more than clear to the other women of the clan, and yet somehow not even her mother seemed to be chiding her for her poor choice of mate. Well, he supposed they had some amount of tact, and would not intrude where she was so obviously still castigating herself. That would doubtless come later. He was surprised, though, at how solicitous Peyral was being. Especially after the way Peyral had spoken about "Neytiri's betrayal of Jake's trust" last night around the fire, although her opinion was certainly not a widely-held one. Clearly something had happened last night after he left the two of them sitting at the fire together, and whatever it was it seemed to have renewed their friendship.

Even in the present circumstances, he could only see that as a good thing. Mated to another or not, as the new _Olo'eyktan_ he was going to need to work with Neytiri, and if Peyral could be convinced that she was still a strong and worthy friend, then it spoke well... He shook his head and frowned firmly. He couldn't let himself start to doubt her. Even if she had made what seemed like a foolish choice, she had stood firm by it, and insisted it was the will of Eywa, and there was something...a tiny part of him, true, but he was going to have to start to listen to those tiny parts now, with his new heavy responsibilities, which was relieved that there was now no chance he would be mate to her. She had been right in what she said, it _would_ have been a betrayal of Sylwanin. If only he could have spoken to his love himself to confirm... Of course, now there was no way to speak to her again, unless... He had heard rumours of the power of _Vitrautral_, perhaps he would have to see if he could find some solace from its branches.

* * *

Pure inky blackness was the first thing Jake became aware of as the bond was made. Unlike when he had linked with a horse or Luke or any of the thanator babies, he wasn't aware of the body of the other creature he'd linked to, unlike when he had linked with Neytiri, he didn't get a rushing wave of emotion, there was just...blackness. A blackness so intense, in fact, that it was making him blind. He could still feel the firm, leathery back of _toruk_ beneath him, could feel his arm wound around the queue to hold him on, but he couldn't _see_! So he did the only thing he could, he tried to push forward deeper into the blackness, to push through this...what seemed almost like a barrier between his thought's and _toruk_'s, and after what seemed like forever but was probably only seconds, he could see again, although obviously not with his own eyes. It was almost like his dream from _uniltaron_. He was seeing the world through _toruk_'s eyes...

And then, all of a sudden there was a sense of curiosity/amusement/annoyance. _"You are no mate to me,"_ she - yes, he'd thought _toruk_ would be male, but the mental sense was definitely female - said, and the amusement seemed to be overshadowing the annoyance, at least for now, _"you are far too puny. Your whole body would be lost within mine if you attempted such a thing, so you must instead wish to use my wings."_

"I...yeah," Jake said, startled by the cold intelligence he sensed in her mental "voice". This girl was the epitome of "stone cold bitch" and he could only thank his lucky stars she found him amusing instead of annoying, or he had the feeling he would already have been a light snack.

_"And what makes you think yourself worthy to fly the upper skies with me? You are not the first to try, you know,"_ she said, _"and I admit, the others __**were**__ quite tasty little morsels. So are you another tasty morsel, or do you think you can convince me otherwise."_

"What makes me worthy?" Jake repeated the question, a sense of panic beginning to swell within him. Other than his sense that this was the right - no, the_ only_ - thing to do, there was no reason he should be worthy of such an honour as to fly with _toruk_, and so many reasons why he wasn't worthy. He knew it was useless to try to lie through the bond of _tsaheylu_ so he just shook his head. He might not be worthy, but he wasn't about to give up, and besides, there was something in the question that reminded him of that song Ninat had sung about the _Toruk Makto_ before... "Actually," he said finally, "nothing makes me particularly worthy myself, but someone had to do this, the time has come again and _Toruk Makto_ is needed for the good of the world, and I figured I was the only one crazy enough to do it."

_"The only one crazy enough, is it? Let me see then, little morsel. Let me into you to see what it is you wish of my wings, and perhaps we may indeed fly together."_

Jake felt her lock her wings into position to glide, and he gripped on tighter. He had a feeling this was gonna hurt a bit. "C'mon in, then," he invited her. "Watch you don't trip over anything and please 'scuse the mess." He breathed deeply in, and all of a sudden she was _there_. It wasn't like when he had bonded with Neytiri. They had shared each other's bodies, minds and memories in an equal, giving way. This was nothing but "take". He could feel her inside his mind, sharp beak and wicked talons rending and tearing apart his consciousness to get at the subconscious desires below. He screamed as she wriggled her whole head into him, stripped him bare and pulled his tiny, wriggling soul out, rolling it around in her mouth and tasting it...

And then all the pain was gone. She set him down as carefully as a fragile egg, creening softly to him as she put his mind back together, not a shred or a scrap out of place. _"You are he who was meant for me,"_ she said, and the curiosity had turned to contentment, _"and I am to take you where you need as long as you need my wings, so where is it we will go first, partner?"_

"To the Tree of Souls," Jake grinned, "we've got a job to do, and more than that, we've got an entrance to make!"

_"I have always been good at making an entrance,"_ she agreed, highly amused, _"let's see if we can't send a few of the little potential morsels scurrying!"

* * *

_

Tom was back...he was _back!_ Ninat felt as though her heart was about to burst out of her chest! And then she felt a wave of anger at him. She pushed away from him firmly. "_You had better not ever leave like that again!_" she reprimanded him, "_I was so afraid for you! You wouldn't wake, and I couldn't find anyone who might know why..._"

He pulled her back against his chest, and she couldn't stay angry. As the anger faded, though, the memory of the fear she had felt moved to the fore, and she clung to him, tears streaming from her eyes. "_You took so long to wake,_" she said, "_I thought I would never see your eyes open again._"

"_I was an idiot,_" he admitted, "_I never should have left. I found out what would happen, but I couldn't do anything to change it, all that happened was that I got locked up and I couldn't come back to you._"

"_You were locked up?_" she asked in surprise.

"_I was, and then..._" she could hear a choking sadness in his voice that she had never thought to hear from him, "_...and then they took me up onto the ship, and they made me watch._" He buried his face in her hair and breathed deeply, "_I was so afraid for you when I saw Kelutral fall,_" he whispered.

This was a side of Tom she had never seen before, a vulnerability she had not suspected of him, and it melted her anger with him away completely. "_I was safe, I'm still here,_" she said, taking one of his hands and pressing it against her cheek, "_By the grace of Eywa we were kept safe here, and now she has brought you back to me again. I won't let you go this time,_" she warned him, "_I don't want to be alone again._"

"_You won't have to be,_" he assured her, "_I'm never going back there again. Not even in my tawtute body. Jake, Norm, Grace and I were all being held, and we escaped. I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere, ever again._"

"_Good,_" she grinned. "_Then since for the moment we have nowhere to go, perhaps we should discuss all those things you promised we would discuss when you returned._"

"_Of course,_" he agreed quickly, "_whatever you want to talk about we'll talk about._"

"_Good,_" she shifted until she was sitting comfortably on his lap, using the small height advantage this gave her to lean forward and press her lips to his, "_but I think there is only one thing which needs to be discussed, and I don't believe it will involve all that much actual talking._"

* * *

As the first of the Omatikaya refugees began the trek down into _ayVitrayä Ramunong_, the bowl-like depression which held _Vitrautral_, Neytiri stood watch, doing what the healer had advised her the night before and keeping both her mind and body busy. Seze had fluttered down to her a short time ago, and she had been vastly relieved to see that her faithful companion had made it out of the high limbs of _Kelutral_ in one piece, although why it had taken her so long to find them was something of a mystery. Neytiri had made _tsaheylu_ to find out what she had been doing, but the only sense she could get was one of _"protection/love/secret/surprise"_ and she couldn't tease nor cajole anything more out of the stubborn bird.

She looked out over the valley, at the steady stream of people and _fa'li_ moving down the slope and spreading out like blue paint across the valley floor, and she wondered what would be next. She knew that there would have to be something done, they could not simply exist in _ayVitrayä Ramunong_ forever, a people without a home, and yet...how would they now find a new home? She tried to remember if any of the songs spoke of a tribe having met with disaster and having to find a new home, a new _kelutral_, but couldn't bring anything immediately to mind, and in that instant, she missed Ninat more than she had since she had been forced to leave her friend among the roots. Ninat was a singer. Ninat would know the old stories, would know if such a thing had happened before and what had been done about it.

She shook her head. There was little she could do about it now. All she could do was speak to Kxawn'e later, for the information, and pray once again to Eywa to find some way to bring Ninat back to them, for the other. And thinking of prayers to Eywa, she wondered if perhaps she ought to speak to her mother. About many things, about their memories of her father, about what would happen now, but most of all, she wondered if she should tell her mother about the dream. After she had shared it with Peyral the night before, she had almost begun to believe that it wasn't crazy, that there was some chance, slim, but a chance, that the dream had been true, and if it was...

She shook her head. If it wasn't true, then her mother would truly think she had gone insane from the grief of all her losses, and if it was...well... If it was true, then surely they would know soon enough.

* * *

Tom groaned as he felt her lips touch his, and almost before he knew what he was doing he was clutching at her arms and pulling her tightly against him. After all the fear he had gone through when he thought she might be gone, after waking unsure if he would ever see her again, to have her close like this, her breath mingling with his, their lips and bodies touching, was almost more than he could have ever hoped for. Jake was right, he _had_ wasted time that should have been so precious...

He slanted his mouth against hers and kissed her with a desperation he had never felt before. He wanted - no, he _needed_ - to know that she was there; that this wasn't all just some sort of elaborate dream. He found his hands smoothing over her body, stroking her soft skin, memorising the contours of her body. He wished he could see her, could see how she reacted to his touch, could see her sweet, beloved face smiling at him, but in the darkness of...wherever it was they were (he still hadn't asked, but that wasn't important now), that wasn't possible, so he concentrated on his other senses instead.

She pulled back just enough to breathe, and he rested his forehead against hers, nuzzling softly against her, and her needy little whimper reminded him of the advice Jake had given him, and he let go of her with one hand to reach behind him and take his queue, bringing it forward to brush teasingly against her cheek, since he wasn't sure she would be able to see what he was doing.

She giggled softly. "_Finally ready to be the one to take the first step, are you, ma Tom?_" she teased, "_I almost did not think you were capable of it._"

"_What can I say, I'm full of surprises,_" he laughed a little ruefully, "_I told you I'd never leave you again, this is how I'll keep that prom...ise..._" his words turned into a soft moan as she brought her queue up and joined it with his, accepting the choice he had offered her. As their minds blended together, he caught flashes of thoughts, sensations, memories, all passed by too fast for him to really examine them, but the strongest sense he got through all of them was an overwhelming sense of love. Deep, abiding love, and incredible arousal. He wanted, _needed_ to join himself to her in the most intimate way possible, it was imperative, a biological directive, but at the same time, he didn't want to hurry things. He wanted to take his time, make this first joining last forever; he wanted her to remember this forever.

His hands smoothed down over her body again and back up, lifting her necklaces over her head, the soft clattering, tinkling sound as he set them down contrasting like the most beautiful music with her moans of pleasure as his fingers traced around her breasts, lifting her close to his bent head so that he could lick and then kiss each pebbled tip. He could feel the shocks of pleasure as they passed through her, making both their bodies weak with need.

"_Ma Tom,_" she whispered, kissing the top of his head, "_I didn't know..._"

He chuckled. "_Well, if you didn't know, then this time let me be the teacher for a little while,_" he said, leaning forward until he could lay her gently down on the floor and pressing his weight against her, letting her feel the heat and firmness of his aching erection. "_Lesson number one: This feels good._" He ground himself against her, and even through the barriers of their loincloths he could feel the warmth of her so very ready to receive him.

Even with their close connection, her hands surprised him as she reached down to loosen his loincloth and set it aside, and he groaned with need as her curious fingers began to explore.

"_I have seen boys without their clothing before,_" she admitted, "_when my brother and I were young we used to bathe together, as children do, but this part was always soft before._"

"_Well that's the difference when a man loves his woman,_" he smiled as he trailed his fingers down to her loincloth, then gasped, his fingers clenching against her hips as she rubbed her thumb over the head of his throbbing erection.

"_It makes much more sense to me now,_" she agreed, "_I had always wondered how it was possible for something so soft to fill a woman._"

"_Let me show you,_" he said with a wicked smile, peeling aside her loincloth and sliding his fingers along her and letting one press ever-so-gently into her. She arched into him, and he moved down her body, kissing, licking and nipping lightly, tracing the lines and patterns of her _sanhì_ and glorying in the shivers and moans he elicited from her.

"_Ma Tom,_" she moaned, "_please..._"

He nuzzled against her stomach, breathing in her rich scent, and kissed her bellybutton before moving back up, his body sliding against hers. He brought one of her legs up, showing her how to wrap it around his hips, caressing her, sliding his stiffened erection against her before shifting into position and pressing into her. He panted hard, his fingers clenching with the need to go slow, to draw this out, until he was seated fully within her.

Her tail twined around his, or was it his tail twining with hers? He couldn't tell anymore as he began to move, a slow rhythm quickly becoming more frenzied. He was losing himself within her in a way so far beyond anything he had ever felt before that it was almost more than his mind could process.

Or maybe it _was_ more than he could process. Everything had begun to blur, the overload of their mingled pleasure making exact details just too much work when all of his focus was instead on what he/she/they were feeling as they moved together in the most primal of dances, and then...

* * *

...and then there was their dream. In their dream, they were sitting together beneath a beautiful tree with shimmering branches like crystal. The sun was shining and they were laughing together as they prepared lessons for the children. It was so good to see the children laugh again, even if they hadn't yet found their home...

...and then they were once again traveling, their bodies wrapped around each other in a travel _nivi_, their explorations of each other's now-familiar bodies unhurried until she rolled on top of him and took his hands in hers, pressing them to her stomach with the most beguiling, beautiful smile he had ever seen on her face...

...and then he watched as she chased after two impish little children, a third, tiny newborn tucked in its carrier close against her chest, before stepping out from behind the tree he'd been leaning against just in time to catch the scamps up with "monster" growls. The kids ran him ragged, but just see if he ever complained...

* * *

When they woke from the dream their hands and bodies met in the dark once again, and she giggled softly. Then she rolled them over, as she had in their dream, only this time she pinned his hands over his head and he let her, allowing her time to explore his body as much as she wanted. With nothing else to do and nowhere to go, they lost themselves in each other, finally able to be one as they had both longed to be.

Neither one of them noticed their small audience, but then, even if they _had_ been paying attention, _säftxuk_ were not generally seen if they didn't want to be. The small female, having finally seen enough, smoothed her frill down against her neck and turned to wriggle back through the hole they had made, her lithe body swimming through the earth and ashes almost like she swam through water. The Mother wanted this pair watched over, so she and her mate did as The Mother asked. Right now, that was all she knew.

* * *

**Whew! *fans self* now that was a long time coming! I want to say a big thank-you to everyone out there who didn't give up on those two, even when Tom _was_ being a total idiot ^_~**

**And now, for the (slightly less exciting but still interesting...) **

**Vocab:**

**Na'vi:**

**_Oel ngatì kameie_ - I See you**  
**_tawtute / sawtute _- sky person/people - human(s)**  
**_Vitrautral_ - the Tree of Souls**  
**_tswin _- neural queue, the way the creatures of Pandora link up**  
**_tsaheylu _- the bond, the link that is connected**  
**_txìm _- butt, behind, ass**  
**_uniltaron _- dream hunt, the "final test of becoming a man"**  
**_täftxuk / säftxuk _- shadow weaver(s), shadowcat(s)**  
**_kali'weya_ - aracnoid, nasty scorpion-like thing**  
**_tsmuke_ - sister**  
**_uniltìranyu _- dreamwalker - conscious avatar**  
**_uniltìrantokx_ - dreamwalker body - unconscious or "empty" avatar**  
**_Sa'nu_ - Mommy**  
**_palukan _- thanator, and no this isn't a misspelling, it's the colloquial, shorter way to say "_palulukan_"**  
**_Sempu _- Daddy**  
**_Kelutral _- Hometree**  
**_Olo'eyktan_ - Clan leader**  
**_sanhì _- stars, or bioluminescent dots**  
**_Toruk_ - biiiig red birdie**  
**_iknimaya_ - stairway to the heavens, the rite of apssage to become a hunter**  
**_ikran_ - banshee, the birds the Na'vi ride**  
**_Toruk Makto_ - a figure of legend who brings the clans together in a time of Great Sorrow**  
**_ayVitrayä Ramunong_ - the Well of Souls, the depression in which the Tree of Souls grows**  
**_pa'li / fa'li_ - direhorse(s)**  
**_nivi_ - sleeping hammock**

**Japanese:**

**_chibi-tachi_ - little ones  
**


	34. Chapter 33: Reunions and Partings

**OMG this chapter killed me! I meant to have it out to you all a week and a half ago, and I'm only just finishing it now...**

**Another long one, but with some exciting (and not-so-exciting) moments. I promised to try to get 50k words into Brotherhood this month, and I'm going to stick to that if I can, so hopefully at least another two chapters before the year is out. I'm pretty sure I can manage it, although of course I've got to work around the holidays as well...

* * *

  
**

Brotherhood Chapter 33: Reunions and Partings

As the People began to stream into the valley of _ayVitrayä Ramunong_, their progress slow and mournful, Mo'at found herself wandering among the rocks and the hidden places on the far side of _Vitrautral_ and trying desperately to find the core of strength within herself that she knew she would need over the next little while in order to hold the People together through this time of sorrow. It was very hard to find, though, and if she was being honest with herself it didn't take much thinking to realize why. For so long, Eytukan had been her greatest source of calm and strength, even when he (often) wasn't particularly "calm" himself at times. Now she was going to have to go on without him, and the thought of that...

She had to sit. Not for any reason other than her legs simply refused to carry her any longer. She found a log conveniently close enough and sat down before she fell over as her knees buckled, taking slow, deep breaths as she fought to regain the most basic control over herself. She could not let this overtake her so completely, she had responsibilities and they did not go away simply because she felt the need to grieve. So many others were grieving as well, how was her grief any more important than anyone else's? She shook her head. She couldn't allow the People to see her like this. If they saw her lose hope then they would lose all hope as well, and she could not do that to them.

With more effort than she suspected she had ever had to rally in her life she straightened her back and forced herself to her feet again, although she didn't take a step. She simply swayed there, frozen on the edge of falling, as their home had hesitated before it fell, teetering on the brink of movement...

"_You do not need to be strong just yet,_" a voice said, and for an impossible second she thought...but no, as she turned to see him she knew it was not her mate.

"_Kxawn'e,_" she said softly, an unexpected roughness as of hidden tears in her voice. This was a man who would understand at least a little of what she had lost, they had been friends since before she could remember, after all.

"_Not for us._" Another familiar voice, and as she completed her slow turn she saw Ateyo, another of _his_ close, boyhood friends, step out from behind a fern. He had one arm in a sling, and his face on that side was burned in a way she knew would brand him with a scar, but he was clearly alive, and for a second, the sight of both of them made anger flash through her, hot and hurtful. What right had they to be alive when she was suffering the loss of half of herself?

"_Ateyo? Why are the two of you following me?_" she glared, using that flare of anger to fight back the tears that had almost burst through her defenses.

"_We are following you because we know you will try to be strong, and that's all well and good, but before you can do that you need to grieve properly,_" Kxawn'e approached her as slowly and carefully as though she were an injured _pa'li_ which might strike out at those who wished only to bind its hurts, "_We are here because we know he would not want you to be without support, and that has always been our promise._"

"_Ever since we were all young,_" Ateyo confirmed. And when had he moved around behind her? He had his good arm wrapped around her shoulders and it should have felt so very wrong, but she was so numb now that she barely noticed.

"_He made us swear that if anything ever happened to him we would make sure you survived, and make sure that you did not grieve alone,_" Kxawn'e explained, suddenly in front of her and stroking a hand gently over her hair as if she was a young girl just waking from a nightmare of the worst kind. "_He did not want to think of you being so very alone. That, more than anything, he never wanted for you._"

Their kindness and gentle, comforting touch was suddenly more than she could bear, and she felt her knees grow weak as the tears came. And not silent, graceful tears either, or even a proper keening, but breath-stealing, wracking sobs that bowed her back as she wrapped her arms around herself in a vain effort to keep her whole being from flying apart in pain.

One of them, she wasn't sure which, pressed down on her shoulders, and the three of them sank to the ground where she found her head resting against someone's shoulders, soothing, gentle hands rubbing her arms and stroking her hair as the three swayed together to the rhythm of her broken breath, their low, quiet voices rumbling within her bones although she did not comprehend a word they were saying.

* * *

Sometime later - she had no idea how long - when her tears had finally eased and she was breathing again with only the faintest hitch of pain, she sat up straight and shook her head.

"_I am sorry, both of you. I don't know what came over me,_" she said, not quite able to meet their eyes.

"_You have nothing to apologize for,_" Ateyo corrected her, "_We told you: we are here so you may grieve._"

"_You should never be afraid to let us see your pain,_" Kxawn'e added, "_Anytime it becomes more than you think you can bear, you can share it with us._"

Her breath caught briefly, although she was quite sure she had no more tears left in her. "_Then I thank you, both of you,_" she said graciously, gathering herself, "_and know that I am supported. It is a good thought._"

"_You have as much right to your grief as any who have lost loved ones in this tragedy,_" Kxawn'e said firmly, and she could hear the concern in his voice, which confused her momentarily until she remembered that his daughter was not with them, was possibly among those lost ones. "_I think it would do everyone some good to gather and sing together. There has never been a time when the Tree-song was more needed than this._"

"_You are right,_" Mo'at nodded, her fingers sweeping away the remnants of tears from her face, "_All among us grieve the loss of our home, the Tree-song would be most welcome and will help every one of us._" She managed a smile, and turned it on both of them, "_And I have stolen you from your mates and families for long enough. I will be fine now, you go prepare the People; I will not be far behind._"

They both got to their feet, then helped her up, and once it was clear that she could stand on her own again, that her feet would carry her forward, they smiled at her briefly and turned to walk ahead of her. As she watched them, she almost thought she saw another figure striding along beside them, and although the sight hurt her heart so _very _much, the tears didn't come this time. Instead, she managed a smile as she took one step behind them, and then another, her feet finally falling into their old, familiar rhythm again. She would get through this. The People needed her, but more than that, her daughter needed her; and for now that would have to be enough.

* * *

In the improvised _ikran_ rookery around the sides of the bowl of _ayVitrayä Ramunong_, there was a small disturbance. A blue/green mottled male flew in, landing near those he had often nested with in thetreethatfell, but he was not as welcomed as he might have hoped. One of the other males, this one a deep blue, the colour of deep, still water, shrieked and snapped at his right fore-wing in anger.

_"Partner angry/hurt from yourpartner!"_

_"Notmyfault!"_ he hissed back, drawing back into a defensive pose.

Quickly, a nearby female moved between them, mantling and making herself large. _"Notbother partnermatepartner,"_ she threatened the deep blue one, _"hispartner hurt/sick!"_

The deep blue male backed down, looking somewhat cowed, and the female, whose wings were the green-blue shade of the decorative stones the bueones often wore, settled down, making sure to stay between them.

_"Whyyouleft hurt/sick partner?" _she asked him quietly.

_"Partnerbetter," _he said with a sense of pride, _"partner flyheresoon, bigsurprise," _he chortled, settling himself down and looking to the sky, _"youwatchnow!"

* * *

_

As they approached the Tree of Souls, Jake closed his eyes, letting himself see through _toruk_'s, borrowing her much stronger vision to get a view of the scene laid out beneath him. It appeared the clan was gathered around the tree, with a few sitting right up beneath it... And he couldn't stop his heart from jumping, trying to beat its way out through his ribcage as he realized one of those was Neytiri. He ached with a bone-deep longing to touch her, to hold her again, but more than anything else he wanted to see that far-too-rare smile of hers. Not that he was likely to get that, even if he _did_ manage to convince her that she should forgive what he had done. Not after what had happened.

_"Ah..."_ there was amusement in the _toruk_'s mental voice, _"you wish to impress your mate, do you? I suppose that is only natural, you are, after all, male, and males have to do __**something**__ to validate their existence. I recommend coming in with the sun behind us. I have always found my shadow to be particularly awe-inspiring to the morsels and potential morsels."_

"Sounds like a plan," Jake agreed, opening his eyes again as they wheeled around the rim of the bowl-shaped depression.

They got into position, and then she began to back-wing, coming in for a landing in a most spectacular fashion. He struggled a little to keep his balance, his arms wound around her antennae and his feet moving up to balance on the edge of her shoulder-joints where the pivot-point meant there was a little less movement to throw him off. He grinned to himself as he saw the crowd scattering below them, both Na'vi and _ikran_ hurrying out of the way of the most bad-ass thing in the sky, and he could feel her amusement as well. She hadn't been kidding when she'd said she loved making an entrance!

One thing he could say, though...landing on the ground on a _toruk_ was a hell of a lot more comfortable than doing it on an _ikran._ Probably something to do with the fact that _toruk_ had legs to land on, whereas the _ikran_ had to tuck in its rear wings to act like legs, meaning the last couple feet were a lot more bumpy without the extra stabilizing factor. She reared up, flaring her wings and letting out a roar, announcing herself, as though she didn't know that every living being in the place was already totally, terrifyingly aware of her, and then she settled, her wings folding to support herself in a more comfortable horizontal position, bringing him close enough that he could easily hop down from her back.

_"If she does not run to you wishing to mate immediately she is clearly lacking in mental acuity and you should find a better one," _she grumbled to Jake just before he disconnected from her, and he smiled for a second before regaining the serious attitude he knew he was going to need here to hold himself together for the confrontations to come.

He ran his hand along her powerful neck, and then over her hammer-like brow ridge, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction as she rumbled to him in what he knew from working with Luke was an affectionate sound, and leaned her head into the caress. They were partners now, and he wanted everyone to see it - to see how the _toruk_ had accepted him. She made a pleased little "rrah!" and he patted her just behind her beak, soothing her almost automatically. He wasn't looking at her anymore, though. His gaze was focused on the group under the tree and, more specifically, on Neytiri, who had begun to move toward him.

* * *

Neytiri could hardly believe the vision before her own eyes. Wouldn't have, in fact, if not for everyone else who seemed to see the same thing she was seeing. Had it not been for that evidence she likely would have thought she was having some sort of hallucination due to her body's aching desire for its mate, coupled with the exhaustion of the past couple of days.

She stepped out of the grip of her mother's arms and almost in a trance toward him, the people on either side of her path parting as though their supple blue bodies were merely water, and she a small boat. They parted for him also as he walked toward her, and then she was hardly aware anymore of the presence of anyone but him as he stopped in front of her, the seriousness of his expression and the depth of his piercing gaze almost too much for her. Where was her Jhake? Her carefree mate always ready with a smile and a joke? Who was this stern warrior who stood before her? She almost felt...cowed, as though it was she who had been in the wrong, and it hurt. Almost more than her body hurt from lack of him, her heart hurt that he was here and she did not see his smile. That smile had been what had finally pulled her back to the land of the living, to living in the present and not the past of her sister's death where all she had cared for was revenge. She wanted that smile back, but she did not know what she could do to bring it. All she could think of as she looked up at him was to greet him.

"I See you," she whispered, her throat tight, the wonder clear in her voice. He had become _Toruk Makto_ for her. For her and for the People he had taken a risk so great that only five times since the time of the First Songs it had succeeded. No, she thought to herself with pride, not five times; six. And the sixth was _her mate_!

The corner of his mouth twitched upward, and it made her heart flutter in her chest. Could it be that he forgave her? She knew now she should not have doubted him; _Peyral_ hadn't doubted him as she had, what right did she even have to claim him as her mate when she had not trusted him?

"I See you," he replied, and he reached out to her, his hand first grasping her arm, and then, as she brought her own hand up to touch him, to prove to herself that yes, he _was_ real, his hand slid up over her shoulder and along her neck to cup her cheek and cradle the back of her head. So gentle - oh Great Mother so gentle - and she could feel the slight trembling of his fingers where they were hidden in her hair. The relief of his touch finally, after all their time apart, flowed over her skin like cooling water, soothing the itching, the bone-deep ache of his lack as he brought his other hand up and his thumbs rubbed against her cheeks.

"I was afraid, Jhake," she admitted, knowing no excuse was good enough for doubting him, "for my people. I am not anymore."

He took a deep breath, letting it out as his whole body seemed to relax slightly, almost as though he had been as afraid of facing her as she had been of facing him when he came flying in on the back of the mighty _toruk_, and then...there was the smile! Shining on his face in its full glory. He didn't say a word, but she knew she was forgiven; if, in fact, he had ever blamed her for how she had reacted, which she suspected he might not have. Still, she had hurt him, she knew, and she had to make up for it.

He looked away from her then, up toward the platform where Tsu'tey, her mother and Tìyana still stood. He gently moved her aside and moved toward them, addressing Tsu'tey formally. She felt a hand on her back and turned to see Peyral giving her a concerned look.

"_I stand before you, ready to serve the Omatikaya people,_" he said, carefully stepping up onto the raised area, obviously unsure of his reception there.

Jake's accent was, she thought randomly, still in need of work, but he was doing much better than he had not so very long ago. She felt Peyral squeeze her hand, and then push her ever-so-subtly away toward the raised platform as well. She reached up to her mother, who helped her up and then pulled her in to stand beside her, their arms wrapping around each other for comfort.

"You are _Olo'eyktan_, and you're a great warrior," Jake said firmly, "I can't do this without you."

Neytiri could see that Tsu'tey was unsure. He had not heard her tell Peyral of her dream, so he had not in any way expected that this would happen, and she was sure it had unsettled him - as well it should! Who, after all, expects _Toruk Makto_ to come in his time? _Toruk_ picked that moment to remind everyone of its presence, rising with a raucous cry to flare its wings and then resettling itself, and Tsu'tey's eyes flicked over Jhake's shoulder to where the massive beast crouched at the outer edge of the bowl of _ayVitrayä Ramunong_, his ears drooping briefly as he swallowed hard before meeting Jhake's gaze again.

"_Toruk Makto_," he said, as though it would only be real if he said the words aloud. He stepped forward, and Neytiri still wasn't quite sure what he was going to do, and then he reached his hand out and placed it on Jhake's chest. "I will fly with you," he said, and Neytiri felt such a sense of relief that she closed her eyes briefly. Tsu'tey could have just as easily refused to speak to Jhake, _Toruk Makto_ or not, but then, she was starting to see a different side of the man who had loved her sister - a side which was much more introspective and serious than she had ever suspected him of being.

"My friend is dying," Jhake said sadly, and Neytiri's eyes snapped open again in shock. He turned to them, then, although more toward Mo'at than her, "Grace is dying. I beg the help of Eywa."

Grace? Dying? How could this possibly be? Had there not been _enough_ death over the last two days? Must another dearly-held person leave her now?

"Bring me to her," Mo'at said simply, and Jhake nodded.

"This way," he held out his hand, taking Neytiri's own hand in his as he led them both up out of _ayVitrayä Ramunong_ and into the forest, his thumb moving over the back of her hand almost without seeming to think about what he was doing.

* * *

After they had arrived on the scene of the fallen Hometree, Taka and Carlos had taken a break to rest and to let the cubs rest as well, and as they were eating a quick meal of fruit and dried meat Pämeya had sent them with. They had quickly agreed that one or other of them would have to unlink, while the other stayed in. It wouldn't do anyone any good if their human bodies fell to exhaustion. They took turns resting, and it was while Carlos was sleeping that the cubs came to Taka to tell him they were ready to start looking. It was a daunting task. After all, it wasn't as if they had any reference point from which to start, and when the tree had fallen and burned it had taken out a great deal of the familiar landmarks that might have been there. All anyone could hope for was that they would come close enough for the thanators' exquisitely-tuned senses to pick up some sort of signs of life.

«_We look/smell for Uncle Tom now,_» Tsuki had said seriously, «_what about other bluepeople?_»

"If there's anyone alive under the rubble we have to try to get them out," Taka frowned, "but can you...tell the difference? It's horrible to think it, but there's no use wasting our energy digging for those who...aren't living anymore and can't be saved."

«_Can tell breathing from meat,_» Tsuki sighed at him, «_Not baby babies anymore!_»

"No, that's right," he stroked her forehead apologetically, "You're getting very big and grown-up. You're my good babies, though, and you'll come and tell me as soon as you find anything, right?"

«_Will get Daddy right away,_» she confirmed, «_That way Daddy can help make the sick/hurt bluepeople better!_»

The three cubs conferred briefly, communicating partly through connecting and mostly through verbal and visual cues - what they were saying to each other he really had no idea, although he wished he could understand - and they split up, although they stayed within a short run's distance of each other. Their crests all flared together, and they lifted the flaps of their lips and opened their mouths just a bit, using every sense at their disposal to search for signs of life hidden under the ash and dirt and fallen branches.

It didn't take long for them to find the right areas to look, although it was obvious that they weren't finding living victims yet. One or other would bend toward the ground, circling, then give a violent shake of his or her head and move on. Their searching was quick but meticulous, but even so they had a large area to cover, and it was after Taka had unlinked and been replaced by Carlos that the first actual live victim was found. Sano called out and all three cubs converged on the area he was standing over. Carlos rushed over to see what it was they had found, and he would have helped, but with their two sets of forelimbs they were more than adequately equipped to dig, and before long, the body of a Na'vi woman began to emerge. She was scratched up and dehydrated, but when he shook her shoulder she coughed and woke, and he made sure that his face was the first thing she saw. The last thing he wanted to do was give the poor woman a heart attack seeing three thanator faces as the first thing in front of her as she was dug out of what might have been her grave.

There were only two other finds before the cubs finally located the spot where Tom and Ninat were trapped, and for each of them Carlos made sure to be the one to check them over and the first thing they saw. He had carried each of them over to where they had set up camp, and made some attempts to bandage the worst of their wounds. Taka had just woken, and Carlos was filling him in on what had happened while he was napping, when Ama came running over.

«_We found where Uncle Tom is!_» she said excitedly, «_We have to wait a little bit though, the small siblings say Uncle Tom is busy with mating and we shouldn't bother yet._»

Taka chuckled at that. "Yes, you're right, we probably shouldn't bother them just yet. What "small siblings" are those, though?"

Ama sent him a mental "image" and he realized she must be talking about shadowcats. Although how the small animals had known to come here, and even more than that, how they had known to find Tom and Ninat and give the warning that they shouldn't be disturbed yet, was a question the potential answers to which were disturbing on quite a few different levels.

"Why don't you take me to where we will have to start digging?" he suggested to Ama, "I might as well get prepared for when they say the time is right."

«_Daddy is so smart!_» Ama giggled mentally, «_Ama will take Daddy to where the small siblings made their burrow to watch Uncle Tom._»

* * *

Finally, tired after their lengthy affirmation of life and their deep feelings for each other, Tom and Ninat lay cuddled together, well, for a short while anyway. They were interrupted by Tom's stomach making a rather loud complaint that it hadn't been filled lately, and he'd just used up quite a bit of his energy reserves without restocking.

"Um, sorry about that," he mumbled, "it has a mind of its own sometimes."

Ninat laughed. "_I am not surprised you should be hungry,_" she said, rubbing a soothing hand over his belly, "_we have some food here, left by Ama', who was kind enough to sit with me a little before she ran for safety, you should eat. I tried to ensure your uniltìrantokx took small amounts of water, but I could not make it eat, of course..._" She kissed his cheek and got up. "_Wait here, I will get us food and water, and we will eat a little. Only a little though, I do not know how long it will take for us to get out of this place._"

"_That reminds me, I didn't ask...where __**are**__ we anyway?_"

"_We are in the same place you went to sleep - the singers' alcove,_" Ninat said, going over to where she had put the food and locating some strips of _yerik_ jerky by memory and feel, "_I knew if we stayed here we would be safe, and if I tried to move, if I tried to take your uniltìrantokx anywhere, you would have been put in danger, and I would have as well._"

Tom just shook his head. The logic escaped him, but they had, in fact, remained safe, so she must have been doing something right.

"_Here, eat,_" she handed him a strip of jerky and then a cup of water. "_You will have to be strong if we are going to get out of here. I haven't found a soft spot yet, but I know we must be able to dig ourselves out if we just work at it._"

Suddenly there was a skittering, scuffling sound, as though little stones might have been falling from the ceiling. They both turned their heads toward the sound, even though they knew they probably wouldn't be able to see anything, but they did manage to catch sight of the phosphorescence of some other creature as it disappeared into the wall. Then, about a minute later, they heard someone's voice calling in to them.

"Hope you're decent in there!"

It was Taka, Tom realized, and he'd never been more welcome than right now.

"We will be by the time you get in here," he called back, "how'd you find us?"

"That's a long story, it'll wait until you're out and we can talk properly," Taka laughed a little, "but suffice it to say my _chibi-tachi_ have better senses than me."

"_What does he mean "_decent_", ma Tom?_" Ninat asked, "_I had thought the word meant "a good person" but that does not make sense with the rest of your words._"

Tom chuckled. "_He meant do we have clothing on or are we naked,_" he explained, "_it's casual speech. Sawtute have many ways of saying something, and some of them are not obvious unless you already know what they mean._"

"_So silly,_" Ninat sighed, "_why do they not simply say what they mean?_"

He couldn't help pulling her over to him for another kiss. "_Because sometimes it is easier to keep things a little less than clear,_" he shrugged, "_not everything needs to be said right away, and some things should remain between just two people. Which is why we really ought to make sure we're "_decent_" before they get down here. I'm the only one who's allowed to see all of your gorgeousness, and I'm not going to hear any argument!_"

That just made her laugh, although she did stretch up to kiss his forehead. "_Alright, I will put my clothing back on,_" she conceded, "_but only if you do as well._"

"_I suppose..._" he teased, "_if I can find where you threw it._"

* * *

It didn't take the cubs long to get down to where Tom and Ninat were, and Taka was relieved to note that they were dressed - or as dressed as any Na'vi ever were - by the time their blinking faces were exposed to the light of day.

"Good to see your smiling faces," Taka grinned down at them as he reached down to help them out through the tunnel the thanator children had made.

"Good to see yours," Tom shook his head wryly, "and please don't take this the wrong way, but what on earth brought you out here to find us?"

"Cathy," Taka shrugged, "She was convinced you weren't dead, even if all evidence pointed to the contrary, and she talked me and Carlos and the _chibi-tachi_ into heading out here to try and dig your sorry ass out of the trouble you'd managed to get yourself into. Seriously, what were you thinking trying to reason with anybody back at Hell's Gate?"

"_His question is a very good one,_" Ninat pointed out, brushing herself off from the bits of dirt and ashes that streaked her skin, "_what indeed possessed you to think the sawtute would be rational?_"

Tom sighed and took her hand, rubbing his thumb over the backs of her fingers. "_I honestly don't know,_" he admitted, "_but I do know I won't be doing it again._"

"Come on," Taka gestured with his head toward where the rest of their injured victims were, "let's get you over to our little base camp. You weren't the only ones we've found, and even though you were our main purpose in coming here, we should probably check just to make sure we haven't missed any more. There's still one quadrant left."

"We can head over there on our own," Tom confirmed, "you should get back to searching." Then he reached over and took Taka's hands in his. "This is a good thing you've done," he said firmly, "and I won't let anyone forget it."

"I'm only doing what any right-thinking, reasonable person would do," he said, "I'm no hero. Besides, after all the Omatikaya have done for me, and offered to do for me and Louise, I'm only returning the favour."

* * *

Once Mo'at had been shown to the new location of the Site 26, Jake handed her over to Norm, who was much better equipped to help her sort out what would be needed in Grace's care and preparations for whatever it was Mo'at was planning. As soon as that was taken care of, he quietly walked a little ways apart, never taking his hand from Neytiri's. He had a feeling he wasn't going to get many chances in the next little while to be alone with her, and they needed every private moment they could catch.

They sat down in a soft patch of moss next to a fallen log, and whether he was the one who decided where to sit, or she was, or it was some sort of mutual decision, he just couldn't be sure. Ultimately, though, it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that she was there and he could pull her against him, comforting them both.

"I am sorry, Jhake," she whispered, "I should have trusted you... I should have trusted the dreams we shared."

He shook his head, "You had every right to be furious with me," he reassured her, "I mean, after what I did...even if I _did_ try in a way to make up for the first, accurate information I passed along to them by feeding them false information, I still betrayed the People before I even really knew them."

"I still should have..." she started insistently before he shut her up with a kiss.

It was the most effective way he could think of to close her mouth, but more than that, he found he _needed_ to kiss her with a bone-deep ache. They hadn't even really been apart for all that long, but even five minutes would be too long to be away from her right now.

He had only meant it to be a brief kiss, just enough to shut her up and distract her from the apology she didn't need to give and he didn't deserve, but somehow one little kiss turned into one long kiss, which turned into many, until with a low moan they broke apart to breathe, leaning their foreheads together as though the thought of losing any amount of contact between them was too much to bear. They sat like this for a span of time, he wasn't sure how long; the only sounds their breathing and the muffled thud of their hearts beating in time, until finally Jake broke the silence.

"I...should probably explain what happened, why I did what I did," he said. He knew there needed to be openness between them, and this was probably the best time to talk about it, before something else came up and it got "forgotten" and perhaps not talked about even though it needed to be. They needed to put it behind them, and they couldn't do that properly if they hadn't talked about it.

"You don't have to," she said carefully, "but if you would tell, it would be better, I think. I am not angry with you any longer, but I...want to understand, to..._kame_...why you would do such a thing."

"And you deserve answers," he agreed, nodding slowly, "I guess, to start, it would help to explain about my Sky Person body. In that body, I don't know if I really told you, but...my legs don't work. I wasn't always like that, of course," he added quickly at her look of surprise, "it might almost have been better if I had been. To know what it's like to have good, strong legs and then have the use of them taken away from you...it's not something that's easy for anyone, let alone someone who's been trained as a soldier - a warrior," he clarified.

"Your...legs do not work?" she looked confused and glanced down at the legs she was resting against, the ones that worked just perfectly, carrying him through the forest and among the trees with strength and agility, "but in this body your legs are good."

"Yeah," he nodded, "but it's...well, now I'm comfortable in this body, but remember what I was like when you first met me? I didn't have any reason to expect that I would want to stay in this body, and so when the man in charge of the SecOps - the Sky People warriors - suggested that I could help him by giving him information about the Na'vi and that in return he would make sure that my legs were healed when I returned to Earth. There is a way to heal even the kind of injuries to the spine that I...that my other body suffered, but I don't have the kind of money that would cost. Back then I'd never even met any real Na'vi, I didn't know what it was like out in the forest, it made sense for me to do what he asked me to do, and even though I wasn't brought here to serve the SecOps it was...what I know. What I knew."

She stroked his knee gently, "So you did as this leader of warriors told you?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "I did like he wanted, starting with giving him specs - information - about the internal structure of Hometree..." He looked down, "I tried to correct it later, but clearly I didn't do enough. After I realized what I was putting in danger, I gave them incorrect information, but I still had to keep enough truth in what I was giving him so that it would be believed..."

"But you did not know us when the first information was given; you had no ties to us," she said thoughtfully. Then she took his hand and squeezed it. "Do you know the first time I saw you?"

"When you came leaping into the clearing, fighting off the _nantang_ like an avenging angel?" he smiled at her, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.

"That was how we met, yes," she nodded, "but it was not the first time I saw you. When I first saw you, you were lost, passing through the forest and completely unaware of me - completely at my mercy. I...drew my arrow on you," she admitted softly, "I was ready for it to be set loose directly into your heart..."

"So, why didn't you shoot me?" he asked, looking over at her. She was looking away, so he reached over and tilted her chin up to make her eyes meet his. "You had every reason to, and no reason not to."

"There was a sign," she shook her head with an ironic smile, "as I drew back my bow and prepared to fire, an _atokirina'_ landed on the tip of my arrow, Eywa would not let me kill you, and it made me curious, so I followed you...which would be how I was able to save you when your foolish, childlike thundering footsteps attracted the _nantang_ to you."

"Well then, remind me to thank Eywa for that little reprieve," he smiled, kissing her softly.

* * *

It wasn't long after Tom and Ninat arrived at the small group of survivors who had been dug out before them that the sound of _fa'li_ hooves made them turn to look and see who might be coming. Ninat was surprised to realize that she recognized one of the women who rode in as Pämeya, one of the Omatikaya's midwives, and the other was the _uniltìranyu_ Louise, Taka's mate.

"_I See you,_" she gestured politely as the midwife helped her son down from her _pa'li_ and then slid to the ground herself before going over to help Louise down as well. She didn't ask what brought the other woman back here when all reasonable people ought to have fled, but the question echoed clearly in the empty silence between them.

"_I See you, and I am glad to see you are safe,_" Pämeya said finally, "_Ka'tsi told us you were trapped and she feared you might be dead._"

"_We are safe,_" Ninat confirmed, "_although to spend so much time alone in darkness was...not something I wish to do again._" She shivered at the memory, although Tom's arms wrapping comfortingly around her made her feel a little better.

"_Indeed,_" Pämeya nodded sympathetically.

"_All in all, though, I am well,_" Ninat shook her head, "_it is these others who have been rescued that I worry for. Your arrival must be timed by Eywa, there are none among us who have any true healing skill, and although none is gravely injured, they are certainly not well._"

"_Then I will do what I can,_" Pämeya said, going immediately to the side of the woman closest to her and beginning to examine her for injuries that might need to be treated or sewn. Creams and salves for her minor burns and bruises could be managed later, first, she was going to have to perform triage, choosing which of those who had been rescued was most in need of her services.

It was as she was checking over the third victim, the only man of the small group, that a cry went up from the search party. Clearly they must have found something - or some_one_ - and that sent her healer-instincts, not dulled at all by her time spent as a midwife, into overdrive. She immediately loped off in the direction of the sound, and if Louise happened to follow her with her strange _tawtute_ healer-kit she did not disapprove of the idea at all.

They got to the group just as the victim was being unearthed, the tree-limbs that had created a cage around him being quickly snapped by the _palulukan_ children's teeth and the strange metal tool Taka was wielding and then being passed over to Carlos who was stacking them to one side. The trapped one was a male, that much she could tell, and he looked somewhat familiar, at least, until he rolled over toward them with a groan as he was finally freed. There was another with him, a young healer girl she knew, whom he had apparently been protecting with his body,, but that wasn't the first thing she noticed. No, the first thing she noticed was that he wasn't merely "somewhat familiar", it was her little brother!

She hurried over to his side, kneeling down to push the hair away from his face with a frown. "_Skxawng,_" she muttered, "_what were you thinking, Tseo'ong? You are a weaver, not some warrior prone to crazy heroics!_"

He chuckled, although it quickly turned to a choking cough. "_I See you, tsmuke,_" he said, "_but do you think you can save the big sister lecture until both of us are clean and fed? I think Prrala hit her head when we hit the ground, and she said she wasn't feeling well before falling asleep again not long ago. I would have gotten us out myself, but...well, it's a little difficult when you have no way to break the branches that hold you._"

"_Stop using me as an excuse!_" the healer girl - Prrala - complained as she sat up, rubbing the back of her head gingerly.

"_You shouldn't be sitting up!_" he said quickly, moving as if to press her back down to the ground, "_Your head is hurt! You could not stay awake!_"

"_It wasn't so bad as all that,_" Prrala shook her head, trying to hide the wince of pain, although Pämeya caught it with her trained eye, "_Mostly I was just tired of trying to forget you were lying on top of me half-crushing me, so I decided I would rather sleep for a bit._"

Pämeya also caught the look of hurt on her brother's face, but she bit her tongue. This was something that was going to have to be worked out between the two of them, and she wasn't going to step in unless one or other of them asked her to. Only a madwoman would interfere in such a delicate situation. "_Let me check you both out,_" she said, "_and bring you over to where we have the others who have been found. You can argue over who has saved whom once I'm sure you don't have any hurts that need tending immediately._"

"_Fine,_" Tseo'ong grumped, "_you can check us over, but I promise I'm fine, you really should check on Prrala first._"

"_You're fine? Really?_" Prrala gave him a significant look, "_who is the one who got hit on the back by a massive falling branch? I only hit my head a little, I had a minor concussion which is already fading._" She turned to Pämeya. "_I am fine, truly. A bit of a headache, and of course I'm very hungry and thirsty, but I have no other injuries. Ask this one,_" she gestured with her head toward Tseo'ong, "_about his tail._"

"_What about my tail?_" Tseo'ong looked confused, "_it's fine, just a little achy, I don't know what you're talking about._" His confused look quickly turned to a frown, and then pure frustration, then he turned his head to look over his shoulder at the offending limb.

"_You can't move it, can you?_" Prrala shook her head.

Pämeya snapped into action, clearing a space among the dirt and ashes to hold him as comfortably as they could manage. "_Lie down on your stomach,_" she ordered him, "_let me see what's wrong._"

He submitted with little more than a worried look and a slight whimper as the movement stimulated aching muscles and bruises that had bloomed over his skin, especially down his back and the backs of his thighs. Once he was lying prone, it was easy to see what was wrong. It seemed one particularly large branch had struck him about six inches below his backside, raising a large welt across his thighs and causing a visible crushing kink just below the base of his tail. Such injuries were always a worry, the chances of feeling and movement being restored were only half at best, and given how much time had passed since the injury was incurred... Pämeya bit her lip with worry. She didn't like this situation, not one little bit! A tail was a necessary thing, and not just for expressing one's mood! A man afflicted with limp-tail often had trouble with balance, the lifeless limb swinging against its owner's needs rather than supporting his movement, and not only that, but weavers used their tails as an extra "hand" almost constantly when working on large or even medium-sized projects, the loss of it could jeopardize his ability to perform his chosen profession! The sooner the tailbones were realigned, the better his (admittedly probably slim) chances of recovering the use of it were, but at the same time, alignment of bones had never been among the skills she excelled at when studying among the healers, and since she had always planned to become a midwife, she hadn't felt a need to truly push herself in the perfection of that skill. She was almost afraid she would do more damage rather than fixing it, but _something_ had to be done...

Prrala must have seen the worry in her eyes, because she moved over next to Pämeya and placed a hand over hers. "_I can do it,_" she whispered, "_I am skilled with bone alignments, and, well...the injury __**was**__ incurred in trying to save me,_" she raised her voice then, and her gentle tone became much more heated. "_Even if he was being a foolish weaver skxawng who tried to appear a hero._"

"_Is it...will you have to take it off?_" Teso'ong asked, his voice showing his efforts to be brave were failing as they seemed to be doing nothing but talking too quiet for him to hear.

"_Nothing so drastic,_" Prrala rolled her eyes, "_at least, not today._" She reached out with skilled hands and walked her fingers carefully down his spine, from the base of his skull all the way to the base of his tail. Pämeya knew she was merely checking to make sure there were no other minor misalignments that would cause him trouble later on, but she did note that Prrala's touch was much gentler than the irritation in her voice would suggest she might be. Professionalism or something else, she wasn't really sure, but she resolved that when they had gotten out of this and brought her little brother safely to where the rest of the Omatikaya were, she and he were going to have a little talk, and nothing was going to interrupt it.

The actual action as Prrala's hands wrapped around his tail and snapped the bones back into position was as quick as a _zize'_ sting, and he had clearly been so distracted by her earlier action that he hadn't been bracing for it - as he should indeed not be, if it were to be successful - and so the muscles had been as relaxed as they might be, which was all to the good, but...

"_I still can't..._" he started to whimper.

"_Don't try to move it right now,_" Prrala interrupted him quickly, "_I need to wrap the hurt area lightly and it must rest if you are ever going to have feeling or movement again._" Once she was working on a patient, she was, of course, completely the healer, the slightly-grumpy young woman who was irritated with this man set aside until her duties were performed and her patient was well again.

"_Of course,_" he agreed quickly, "_I will do just as you say._"

Pämeya had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at his quick compliance. There was her little brother back, the one quick to run from any fight with a female of any age. Even little Maya could have him doing anything she asked if she just frowned her tiny frown in his direction.

* * *

Meanwhile, as Pämeya seemed to have the situation with their newest rescue well in hand, Taka turned to Louise with a frown "What are you doing here?" he asked quietly, "Not that I'm unhappy to see you, but was it really safe for you to come out to such a place? There are holes and pitfalls all over the ground, and I wouldn't like to think what might happen if you took a bad fall..."

"I couldn't very well let you two boys be all heroic without me," Louise shook her head, "besides, in your hurry last night you forgot to take the trauma kit, and I can't imagine what else you might have forgotten without me here, so I had to come!" She looked around, then, and he could see the disquiet on her face at the sight of so much destruction. "Plus...well, after the Omatikaya have been so giving to us, it would be wrong to sit safely back at home while all this horror and destruction was going on."

"I know," he sighed, pulling her against him and rubbing her shoulders, "but you have to know it makes me worry for you when you're going out there like that." He laughed slightly at the face she made. "Yes, yes, I know, you're a fiercely independent woman, and of course there's no way I could ever stop you from doing anything, but a man worries, you know? There's not much you can do to stop it from happening."

* * *

Finding himself a little bit at loose ends since everyone else of any importance seemed to be busy preparing for the ceremony Mo'at had announced would be held as soon as the sun set to try to restore _toktor_ Grace, Tsu'tey had wandered off to a quiet spot on the far side of _Vitrautral_, where he would not be interrupted. He wanted to test his theory from earlier, although he didn't hold out too much hope. Not with the _utral aymokriyä_ where she had resided destroyed. He had never heard of someone trying to use another tree than the closest one a person had died near to talk to them, but, well... This appeared to be a day of momentous events, perhaps there would be just one small momentous event set aside for him?

Checking around him to make sure he would not be interrupted, he very gingerly reached out to take a few fronds that dangled near him and brought his _tswin_ up to connect to them. The sense of _presence_ here was so much stronger than it had been at _utral aymokriyä_, but in essence it was still very similar.

"_Sylwanin..._" he whispered, directing all of his energy and concentration to trying to reach the memory of her - trying to reach her spirit where it now lived within Eywa. He waited and waited, and had almost given up when the faintest whisper finally reached him.

"_I am not lost, ma yawne,_" she said, and he could sense her reaching out toward him, "_do not be angry with Neytiri, she had my blessing._"

"_I...I think I knew that even before it happened,_" he admitted with a sigh, "_I miss you._"

"_You will not be alone always, ma yawne, I promise you,_" she said, her voice fading out, "_I must rest. Be well, ma yawne._"

"_Be well,_" he whispered, feeling tears prick behind his eyes, although he didn't let them fall. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked over to see Laneya's precious face. She looked worried and sad, and he hated seeing that expression on her.

"_What is it, Laney-tsyìp?_" he asked.

"_Sa'nok and Sempul wanted to see you,_" she said, "_it's almost time to eat, and they say we should all eat together._"

He let his _tswin_ drop into his lap and then pushed it back over his shoulder and pulled her into his lap instead, giving her a tight hug. Sylwanin had been right, as always. He wasn't alone, never had been, really; even when he felt quite totally alone he still had his family, and it was time he remembered that and made sure to appreciate it every day.

"_Alright then,_" he said finally, after clinging to her small body for a minute or more, "_I suppose we had probably better get going before Sa'nok decides we have taken too long and lectures us before she will let us eat._"

Laneya giggled and waited until he was almost standing before grinning. "_I'll race you there!_" she said, darting off before he could get his balance, giving herself a good head start.

He laughed and loped after her, not really pushing himself. He didn't mind if she won the race, and besides, it wouldn't do for people to see the clan's _olo'eyktan_ dashing about like a child.

* * *

Trudy was trying really hard not to think about what they were going to try to do to make Grace better as she busied herself covering over the bullet holes in her windshield with duct tape. One layer on the inside, one on the outside, and it ought to keep things airtight plenty long enough. Long enough for what, though, was something else she was trying really hard not to think about.

"Just like the force," a laughing voice said, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Tom, in his human body, walking toward her.

"Huh?" she blinked at him, "and isn't it a bit early for you to be putting your avatar to bed?"

"I didn't go to bed, not precisely," he shook his head, "and I was talking about the duct tape. It's an old joke: What's dark on one side, light on the other, and binds the universe together? Duct tape, or the Force."

"Uh...sure..." Trudy raised an eyebrow at him, "and what does "not precisely" mean? Wasn't there some girl you were worried about and all that? Why would you leave before you have to?"

"Actually, I wanted to ask a favour of you," Tom sighed, "and then I really should get back in there. I...don't want to leave her alone for too long. After last time, she's a bit worried about me unlinking, that I won't wake again."

"Understandably," she nodded, "what's the favour?"

"We've got a bit of a group out there," he said, "Taka and Carlos dug me and Ninat out, and while they were looking for us, they managed to find five more survivors. One of them is pretty injured, and in no shape to walk all the way here. Even if the Omatikaya aren't going to put up with us Dreamwalkers, they should at least be glad to have a few more of their own returned to them."

"Right," Trudy nodded, "and you're a bit behind in the times, Tommy-boy! Your darling baby brother's managed to get us back in with the clan."

"How on Earth did he manage that? Or how on Pandora, I should say," Tom frowned, "that was really fast, especially given what he's told me about how things ended before Hometree fell."

"Oh, I'll leave that for him to tell you," she laughed, "So where do I go to pick you and the refugees up?"

"We're just a little north of Hometree - or where it was, anyway," Tom said, "I should probably go link back up. I...don't want to let them worry too much, and they should know they can stay put for now."

"You go hurry back to that girlfriend of yours," Trudy grinned at him, "make sure she knows you're safe."

"I will," he nodded, "and she's not my girlfriend," he added as he stepped inside the airlock, "she's my mate!"

Before she had a chance to say anything in reply to that he quickly closed the door, and all she could do was shake her head. She had a suspicion she wouldn't be seeing much of him in that body for a while, and it really wouldn't surprise her one bit. All the darned newlyweds around here was getting a little ridiculous. Oh well. At least she had someone to keep her company too. If it had been just her on her own and everyone else pairing up, it might have gotten somewhat depressing. Whelp, better get on getting those last few holes plugged up, she had a mission to fly, after all. And she'd also better let Norm and Grace know she was flying out. Or just Norm really. She was pretty sure Grace was still sleeping, trying to rest up before...that thing she'd started off trying not to think about.

* * *

As the sound of the chopper began to grow in the air, the Na'vi grew understandably nervous, but Tom held out his hand to them and tried to keep them calm.

"_Mawey, my friends, please do not fear. The tawsìp you hear is another of my friends, the one who rescued my tawtute body from where I had been imprisoned and allowed me to return here. She is coming to carry you all to Vitrautral, where the Omatikaya now rest in Eywa's care._"

"_The one who rides the tawsìp...you said "she"?_" the young male, Tom tried to remember his name - ah yes, Tseo'ong - asked, "_Is that Trrudi, Norrm's yawnetu?_"

"_It is, indeed,_" Tom nodded, "_I take it you've met her?_"

"_She is a good woman,_" he agreed, "_I have become good friends with Norm, and the times I have met her she has always been most generous and kind. She has even tried to learn to speak properly so that we can talk._"

"_I am glad you know her also,_" Tom smiled, "_it will help the others to be less nervous of her intentions._"

Conversation was briefly made impossible by the noise of the rotors as the Sampson touched down nearby, and then Trudy shut the engines off and slipped her exopack on before hopping down from the cockpit.

"So, how're we gonna do this?" she asked, "you've got a bit of a crowd here, and it's not like I can't take the weight, but I've only got so much space in the back, and Na'vi aren't exactly tiny, you know."

"I know," he nodded. "First priority goes to the injured..."

"Of course," she rolled her eyes at him, "that's kinda obvious. Why don't you start with the ones who have to lie down, then we'll crowd in everybody who can sit or stand." She looked around at the small group. "I can maybe take the kids up front with me if I keep my mask on and don't set the cabin to earth air, but I don't think I can keep anybody else in there, it's just too cramped for them."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Tom nodded, "Lemme talk to them quickly and we'll sort everything out and get loaded in as quick as we can, so we can get them and you back before it's too dark."

"_We are to get into the tawsìp?_" Pämeya asked him when he got back over to the group, "_Will there be room for all of us?_"

"_Those who must lie down should go in first,_" Tom explained, "_and then those who must sit. Trudy has said she can carry your children in the front with her, although the space there is too small for an adult Na'vi. If there is any room left, then those who can stand will also go in. The tawsìp is strong, and can carry weight much more than that of all who are gathered here, but the space inside is limited._"

"_Of course,_" she nodded, "_then we will begin by loading those who must lie down._"

Tom watched as she immediately got to work, directing Taka and Carlos to carry both the men, who were on litters, over to the Sampson. The first one they brought over was the older male who was the worst off with massive scrapes over his arms and his lower legs, but when they brought Tseo'ong in, Trudy caught sight of him and rushed over.

"_Oel ngatì kameie, ma Tseo'ong,_" Trudy gestured to him, "How did you manage to get yourself in such a state?"

"I was protector," he said in halting English, tilting his head to gesture back at the women sitting waiting for their chance to be loaded in, and specifically the young woman who had been found with him, "she not is hurt, is worth my pain," he shrugged, then smiled apologetically, "You I thank for your kind allowing us ride in _tawsìp_."

"_Ke pxan_, I don't deserve your thanks," she shook her head, "I'm only doing what I can to make up for what my people have done to yours."

Tom watched Tseo'ong reach out and gently touch her shoulder from where he lay in the back of the Sampson. "You not are like they are," he insisted, "You Trrudi are, not _tawtute_."

She bit her lip and took a deep breath, patting his hand. "_Irayo,_" she said, "you're...right, you know. I'm not _tawtute_, I'm Mayan. It's about time I started remembering that out loud again."

The statement surprised Tom, but he knew this was hardly the time to ask about it. There would be time enough for that later, and more than enough. Right now they had bigger things to worry about.

The loading was accomplished quickly, but when all those who had been rescued from beneath the fallen Hometree had been loaded into the back, including leaving a space for him (Ninat had insisted, and he wasn't inclined to argue. Besides which, he was more than aware of how dehydrated and malnourished this body was right now) there would be no room at all for the _palulukan_ children, and only room for one of the Site 12 dreamwalkers.

"We'll stay and head there on foot," Taka offered, "or _pa'li_-back, really. Carlos and I can trade off resting when we need, and I'd much rather see Louise get the easy ride, all things considered."

"Makes sense to me," Tom agreed, "take care of yourselves. Do you know how to get where you're going?"

"I have some idea," Taka nodded, "but more importantly, the _fa'li_ know the way. Don't worry, we'll see you there in a day or so. And once we get there, I intend to get a decent sleep. The last couple of days have been way too long."

"I feel you on that one," Tom clapped him on the shoulder, "be safe, and tell the children to be safe too."

"I will," Taka nodded, "now get going before Trudy decides to take off without you."

Tom laughed and hopped up into the back of the Sampson, wrapping his arm around one of the grab-straps and balancing with his feet on the lower step. It was his first real chance to observe what it was like to fly through the Hallelujah mountains in (fading) daylight, and he wanted to get a good view. He felt Ninat's hand reach over and join his on the grab-strap and he smiled. The rotors were too loud to really talk in any meaningful way, but he turned his smile toward her and rubbed his fingers against hers. Soon they would be with the rest of the clan, and then he intended to find somewhere quiet where the two of them could be together for a bit. It wasn't as though they hadn't been together quite a bit since he had woken again in this body, but call him greedy, he wanted to actually _see_ her body as he made love to her - to see the pleasure wash over her face - and if he didn't have to wait to do that then he wouldn't.

* * *

Jake was studiously not watching as the healers stripped Grace, her human body as well as her avatar, and covered her with a few strategically placed vines for decency (something about her skin needing to be in touch directly with the roots of the tree) so he just happened to be facing in the right direction to catch sight of Trudy's Sampson as she set down near the link-mod. He strode quickly over to see if she needed any help, remembering that Norm had said something about her having gone out to Hometree to bring back Tom and some other folks, and figuring that an extra set of hands would not go amiss getting her offloaded of her precious cargo.

"Good to see you made it out in one piece," he said, extending a hand to help Tom down as soon as Trudy powered down the rotors.

"Good to see you made it _here_ in one piece," Tom raised an eyebrow, "Trudy said something about you convincing the Omatikaya to let you back into their good books, but she wouldn't tell me what you did, said it was your story to tell."

"It is," Jake nodded, "but not right now. There's...more important things." He went back over to help the very shaky Na'vi women down out of the Sampson. "I managed to convince Mo'at to help Grace, and that's what we're about to do. Your timing is impeccable, really.

"What do you mean?" Tom asked as he helped Ninat out and squeezed her hand before they both turned back to lift the litters with the Na'vi men out carefully one at a time and carry them to a flat space where they could be set down without worrying about their occupants being uncomfortable.

"The ceremony is just about to begin," Norm, already in his avatar again, explained, coming up to them, "I didn't exactly get the full story, but it involves her avatar and I think...well we'll just have to see," he shook his head, "it all sounds a bit incredible to me, but then, I suppose one has to suspend disbelief sometimes, and this is one of those times. Everyone's gathering - well, everyone who's well enough, that is - and the healers say Grace is ready."

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on these folks," Trudy offered quickly, and Jake couldn't help noticing how quickly Norm's hand reached out to her, resting on her shoulder and pulling her against him.

"You don't have to stay here," he said, "I'm sure you'd be allowed to come with us; I could go ask quickly."

She shook her head. "It's all good," she said, "I know you could probably talk Mo'at into letting me be there, but there's probably a bunch of Na'vi who don't think I would belong, and I'm not gonna jeopardize what could be Grace's only chance just so I can stick my nose in where it doesn't belong." She turned then and hugged Norm as best she could while he was in his avatar, and without even thinking about it, he lifted her up into his arms to give her a more proper hug before setting her down again. "I'll be fine here, me at Tseo'ong can chat and work on our foreign languages."

"Tseo'ong? Is he around? I've kindof been keeping an eye out for him but I hadn't found him. Actually I was a little worried he might be..."

"He was," Trudy nodded, "but we just brought him back."

Jake felt a tap on his shoulder then, and turned to see one of the healers.

"_It is time, Toruk Makto,_" she said respectfully, "_Tsahìk Mo'at has prepared all that must be prepared, and the People are ready._"

He nodded without a word, and followed her, Norm and Tom not far behind him.

"_Is there anything I can do to help?_" Tom asked.

"_You may lend your support, as all gathered here do,_" the healer said.

"_I will show you what to do,_" Neytiri reassured him as they reached the preparation area where Grace and her avatar were waiting for them.

Jake glanced over at his mate, catching her eyes and letting her see the confusing wave of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. He could see just as much worry, love and concern in her own gaze, and it made him feel at least a tiny bit better about things.

Not long after that, Jake found himself walking among the seated, chanting Omatikaya, Grace's tiny, frail-seeming human body resting in his arms. She had been heavily medicated for most of the day, but the healers had given her something to counter the sleepiness the meds were giving her, and she was just finally beginning to stir. He forced a smile onto his face as he looked down at her.

"Look where we are, Grace," he said softly as her eyes opened.

"Ah," she whispered breathily, her voice still slurring a little, "I need to take some samples..."

He remembered what she had once said, when explaining about the Tree of Souls to him after Neytiri had taken him flying over it one day, that she would "die to get samples" from the tree. He really, really hoped that those words weren't going to be interpreted literally. Still though, it wasn't a good thing that she'd said that. Even the most agnostic of Marines, after all, knew the power of Murphy, and that you just don't tempt fate by saying things that could be held against you later on at the worst possible moment. Still, he didn't want her to know he was concerned in any way, so he flashed her a little grin and stepped up onto the platform made by the roots of the tree, over to where Norm was already arranging the limbs of her avatar as Mo'at directed him.

* * *

Tom followed just a little behind Neytiri, who was a little behind Jake and Grace, and when they stepped up onto the roots of the tree, Neytiri gestured to him to take his place next to her.

As soon as Jake and Neytiri had settled Grace down as comfortably as they could manage, Mo'at knelt close to both her forms, examining them, for what purpose Tom couldn't be sure. He felt Ninat's hand slip into his, and he squeezed it, her support making him feel slightly better, although the only thing that would make him feel completely better right now would be to see Grace well.

"The Great Mother may choose to save all that she is in _this_ body," Mo'at gestured at Grace's avatar, and Tom felt his heart sink. Or was that Jake's reaction? Sometimes Tom couldn't be sure anymore, the twin bond having become so much stronger since their arrival on Pandora.

Jake was the one who asked the question they both wanted answered. "Is that possible?"

"She...must pass through the eye of Eywa and return," Mo'at explained, "but, Jhakesuuly... She is very weak."

Tom's eyes were drawn to Grace again, and he noticed (how could he have missed it earlier?) that the ground below them was sending up tendrils of bioluminescent...rootlets? That was the only way he could describe them. They seemed almost to be burrowing into Grace's skin, and that of her avatar, but it didn't appear to be causing her any kind of pain, which was something, anyway.

"Hang on, Grace," Jake encouraged, sitting next to her and placing a soft, almost tentative hand on her shoulder, "we'll fix you up."

Tom knelt next to his brother, placing his own hand over her knee. "We're right here with you," he said, "and we're not going to let you go without a fight."

* * *

To Grace, lying curled up on the ground, the edges of her brain still fuzzy from the morphine and whatever else they'd given her for the pain, the scene was like something out of a dream...or a nightmare...no, she finally decided, it was more like that really weird trip she'd had from Demerol after her second miscarriage, the light seeming to brighten and fade, brighten and fade in time with her heartbeat, the low chanting of the hundreds of Na'vi echoing through her bones and making her feel as light as a feather, and everything seemed to be surrounded by halos of light...although that might just have been the tree overhead. It was truly magnificent from so close, like a massive weeping willow, and Grace smiled slightly as she remembered (how long ago had it been since she last remembered) the tree she'd fallen asleep under when she was a little girl, when she got separated (ran away) from her parents in the park, in the days when there still _was_ a park, and small green spaces within the city. The willow tree's fronds brushing over her in the slight breeze had felt almost like a blanket, or some sort of warm embrace of the earth, and for just a little while everything had been _right_ in her world...

"_Hear us please, Great Mother,_" she heard Mo'at call out, and she joined her voice to theirs, in her mind.

'If you are real,' she...well, I guess you'd have to say she prayed, 'if you are real then show me! Prove your existence to me!'

"_Take this spirit into you and breath her back to us,_" Mo'at implored, and Grace was surprised to realize she could feel a warm tingling all over her body, as if she'd just come out of the icy cold and into a hot tub, almost hot enough to be painful, but not enough to burn. "_Let her walk among us as one of the People!_"

Yes, Grace thought, it would be nice to become one of the Na'vi...but she'd always known that path wasn't - couldn't be - for her.

"And why should it not be?" she heard a very soft, warm voice ask, and she couldn't tell if it was someone sitting nearby or if it was all inside her head. "Why should you not be given the opportunity offered to all who love this world as much as you do."

'Who...are you?' she asked in her head, testing to see if she would get an answer.

"Who do you think I am, Child?" was the amused response, "If you had ever truly learned to use your _tswin_ and listen before this, you might have heard me in time for this not to be the necessary outcome."

'Are you...Eywa?' she asked, with a sense of wonder matched only by the wonder she had always felt as she finally began to understand the incredible beauty of how a plant worked, the intricate details that all functioned together to create something so individual and precisely suited to exactly what it needed to be and do.

"Who else would I be, Child," the voice laughed, "now, you have a decision to make. Will you push your weary spirit into your other body and make it indeed your true body, or will you let me make your destiny for you?"

'And if I don't push...will I die?' The question had to be asked, and Grace knew, realistically, that dying was exactly what she was in the process of right now. She was enough of a scientist and a realist not to lie to herself about that.

"You may, or you may not..." Eywa said, and there was an echo of amusement to her voice, "They very much hope that you will be well, but you must choose your path, not allow them to choose it for you. Not even your children."

'Children? Oh, you mean...'

"I mean your children. They will be sad if you are gone, as all children must mourn their parents eventually, but you should not cause yourself more pain simply to assuage theirs. The choice is yours."

'Then I will let you decide my fate,' Grace said finally, 'and if that means I will live, then I will devote everything I have to fighting to keep the People safe, and if that means I will die, then I suppose I will at least be a martyr for the cause. I don't like the thought of them being sad, though. Especially...'

"You should reassure your children," Eywa told her, "before I take you into myself and bring you to your destiny."

'You're right, I should,' Grace agreed. Forcing her tired, limp body to move, she rolled over a little and looked up at Jake and Tom, the two boys almost hovering over her, and Norm, off to the other side. They looked sad and worried, and that just wouldn't do.

"I'm with her, boys," she said, the wonder of what she had just discovered more than clear in her voice, "she's real!"

"Grace," she could hear Jake's worried voice calling her, echoing as if down a long tunnel, "Grace, what's happening?" and she wished she could make it better for him, but she'd done all she could do, and now her whole body - no, her whole _being_ was focused on a faraway point, something like the very first time she had ever linked to her avatar. Even the glow of the tree overhead seemed to change into the multicoloured tunnel of light that led her to her other body every time she laid down in the link bed... She let her eyes closed and just...let go, not worrying about what might happen anymore, at least not worrying about what might happen to her. She was in Eywa's hands now, and somehow the thought didn't worry her at all.

"Come to me, _ma 'ite_," she heard Eywa's now-familiar voice and blinked her eyes open. She was standing in some sort of meadow, beneath a tall razorpalm tree, and in front of her was what looked to be a distinguished Na'vi woman perhaps a similar age to Mo'at. She could tell right away, though, that this was no mere woman. The aura of power that radiated off her was enough to choke if she had so decided, but instead, Grace could feel it wrapping around her like a comforting blanket.

"So, um...now what, _Nawma Sa'nok_?" she asked a little hesitantly, "I mean, am I dead, or is this some kind of...intermediary process while you test me to see if I'm worthy to be sent back into my avatar body for good?"

"Both," Eywa smiled, "and neither. You are worthy, you are more than worthy; that has never been the question at issue. The question is, what is best for you? Do you _want_ to go back there? Are you meant to go back, or to stay here?"

"I...I don't know," Grace admitted, "I want to be there to support Jake and Tom and Norm and all the others, all my friends among the AVTR program, but at the same time I'm...tired," she admitted. "I've been tired for a while now, and the thought of just being able to rest is...very tempting."

"Come to me, _ma 'ite_," Eywa held out her open arms, "and let me find where the balance lies."

Grace walked into her embrace without any hesitation, closing her eyes and submitting herself to her fate. She had always been a fighter, ever since she was born, but there came a time when a smart fighter had to know it was time to submit and let the fight continue another day.

After an eternal moment, Eywa sighed and Grace opened her eyes.

"You will stay," Eywa said a little sadly, "here, where you can do far more good. Another will come to me soon, many more, in fact, and you will be needed here for them, to help restore the balance the people of your birth have disrupted."

"Ah," Grace nodded, feeling a faint melancholy at the thought of having to leave them all, but knowing it was for the best. Besides, she'd always been curious what happened after death; this would be a grand new adventure, as long as she made sure to think of it that way, anyway. And if there was something she could do to try to fix the mess the humans had made of Pandora, then all the better, really.

"Come with me, _ma 'ite_," Eywa smiled at her, "and I will show you the wonders of this world of mine, where souls live on, and everything you could ever possibly need can be supplied merely by thinking it into being."

"I'm coming," Grace nodded and followed, not meekly - she could never be accused of being _meek_ - but more calmly than she had felt in life in a very long time. Thinking things into being, hmm? This would indeed be a very interesting adventure!

* * *

***sniffles* Poor Grace! Well, but more than that, poor everyone she's left behind. This scene was the one that really killed me. It was tempting to keep her alive, but sometimes it just can't be.**

**In any case, why not distract yourself with something a little lighter...**

**Vocab:**

_**ayVitrayä Ramunong**_** - the Well of Souls, the depression in which the Tree of Souls grows**  
_**Vitrautral **_**- the Tree of Souls**  
_**pa'li / fa'li**_** - direhorse**  
_**ikran **_**- banshee**  
_**toruk**_** - "last shadow", great leonopteryx**  
_**Toruk Makto**_** - legendary hero, "he who rides last shadow"**  
_**uniltìrantokx **_**- dreamwalker body, empty avatar**  
_**yerik **_**- hexapede**  
_**tawtute / sawtute**_** - sky person/people**  
_**nantang **_**- viperwolf**  
_**atokirina' **_**- seeds of the sacred tree**  
_**uniltìranyu **_**- dreamwalker, avatar**  
_**palulukan **_**- thanator (^_^)**  
_**skxawng**_** - moron**  
_**tsmuke**_** - sister**  
_**zize' **_**- hellfire wasp**  
_**toktor **_**- doctor (English loanword)**  
_**tswin **_**- the organ with which the Na'vi and other animals on Pandora connect.**  
_**yawne**_** - beloved**  
_**-tsyìp**_** - little**_**  
Sa'nok**_** - Mother**  
_**Sempul **_**- Father**  
_**olo'eyktan**_** - clan leader**  
_**mawey**_** - calm**  
_**tawsìp **_**- sky ship (English loanword)**  
_**yawnetu**_** - beloved person, boyfriend/girlfriend**  
_**Oel ngatì kameie**_** - "I See you"**  
_**Ke pxan**_** - literally "not worthy", this is a reply to "thank you", implying that the one recieving the thanks feels they are "not worthy" of such honour**  
_**irayo**_** - thank you**  
_**'ite**_** - daughter**  
_**Nawma Sa'nok**_** - "Great Mother" - a formal title of Eywa**_**  
**_


	35. Chapter 34: We Take to the Skies

**Merry Christmas Everyone! Hope you're enjoying whatever you and your family (or whoever) do to celebrate on this day (or if you don't, whichever ^_~. Heck, I'm Wiccan and I still celebrate Christmas as a time to spend with my family and all that good stuff)**

**Anyway! Fresh, brand-spanking-new chapter for all of you to enjoy inbetween opening real presents and pigging out on way too much good food and candy and chocolate and all those other winter treats!**

**Oh, and before I forget, I've added a character list to my profile page, for anyone who feels like they're getting a little lost in the "who was that random avatar driver she mentioned way back in chapter 12?" type of character craziness that I sometimes delve into. I've added only the relevent characters and made sure to strip any spoilers from my rather more expansive version, hopefully it will stand you all in good stead!**

**And now, on with the show!

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Brotherhood Chapter 34: We Take to the Skies

Jake gazed down at Grace, and he was amazed to realize the look on her face was the most blissfully happy expression he'd ever seen on her. Quite frankly he'd never thought she could even form such an expression on her face at all. But she'd just said "I'm with her" and if that made her happy it was good. Now for the...passing through...whatever that meant. Suddenly her expression was as if she was a million miles away, and he tried to get her attention.

"Grace?" he called, "Grace, what's happening?" He tried to fool himself into believing she was just falling asleep like in a link bed, but he was a soldier - a warrior - he'd seen death before, and he knew she - scratch that, her _human body_ - was dying before his eyes. Quickly he focused his attention on her avatar, the slow, steady rise and fall of its - her - chest reassuring, although it didn't seem to change, it didn't look as though she was waking...

"What's happening?" Tom echoed as Mo'at moved over to Grace's avatar, moving her hands over it as if feeling for her spirit, to see if it had moved over successfully. Her bangles were the only sound which broke the silence, and Jake felt his stomach drop as the tendrils that had been glowing with so much light suddenly went dark, fading quickly out to the rim of the bowl and beyond.

"Did it work?" Jake asked quickly, trying to convince himself he was misinterpreting the signs. He was just a dumb grunt, after all, what did he know about portents and shit like that?

Mo'at didn't look at him, staring instead somewhere far away. "Her wounds were too great," she said finally, regret clear in her voice, "it was not enough time."

Jake felt his ears dip in sadness as he could no longer deny the truth of what he was seeing. Not only had her human body...died...but her avatar also. Somehow it was no longer in the coma-like resting state all empty avatars displayed (which was what he'd expected to see) but it, too, had stopped breathing. He wondered if that was normal, if, somehow, the avatar knew there would be no soul coming back to make it move and simply...gave up.

Ah but how would he know shit like that? And what did it matter anyway? Grace was gone, and she wasn't coming back.

"She is with Eywa, now," Mo'at said, and Jake knew she was trying to be comforting, but it didn't help very bloody much, really. It didn't help him feel better about this amazing woman who he'd finally begun to really form a friendship with dying any more than his squad chaplain's assurances that his parents were "safe in God's hands" when he came to tell Jake about their death in a car accident one week after he landed in Venezuela.

Peripherally he was aware of Neytiri gently taking Grace's mask off and stroking her hair one last time, and he took a careful breath, blowing it out in an effort to focus. He could grieve later, after he'd taken out that Goddamned menace of a Colonel who'd done this. And not just for Grace, but for everyone who'd died when Hometree came down, for all the survivors who were lost now with nowhere to go, for every Na'vi in the other clans, who thought themselves safe and had no idea the storm that was brewing, that might one day take _their _home and _their_ families from them...

Slowly, painfully, he got to his feet, holding his hand out to Neytiri, who took it quickly. He needed to know she was with him; right now, that was probably the only thing besides the thought of revenge that was holding him together. He turned to Tsu'tey, whose sombre but firm expression he was sure matched his own.

"With your permission, I will speak now," he said softly, his gaze not leaving his clan-brother's, imparting the seriousness of his resolve, "you would honour me by translating."

* * *

As the drama played out before him, Grace's struggle to survive the horrific wounds given to her by her own - no, not her own people, _their_ enemies, Tsu'tey corrected himself - he realized he was hovering, much as one might hover outside the place of the healers while waiting to hear news of a loved-one who was ill. Grace...Grace had been his teacher once, long ago, and he still remembered her patience, her slightly teasing smile, and the way they had kept the secret between them that he was actually better at _Ìnglisì_ than he let on in class. He had been a somewhat difficult student, he was sure, but she had never seemed to mind, simply laughing (and not in a cruel way) when he was late to class for the sixth time in a row, or "accidentally" let _riti_ follow him into the classroom. There had always been something special between them, or at least, there had been before Sylwanin died.

Thus, it was with great sadness that he realized what Mo'at was already telling Jhake; Grace was gone. She was with Eywa now, her too-tired body of flesh giving up and letting her spirit escape. He would...miss Grace, he realized, even if they had not spoken in years, and he found he regretted the fact that he hadn't taken the chance since she had been allowed back among the Omatikaya to speak with her again. He had been a vain and foolish young man then...he still was now, although he was working as quickly as he could to stifle that part of himself, to be a good leader for the People.

He watched Jhake struggle to contain the pain of his loss, watched him rise to his feet with the slow, pain-filled movements of an old man, but as he squared his shoulders and stood tall (not quite as tall as Tsu'tey himself, of course) the new _Olo'eyktan_ recognized the look of resolve on his face. He knew that look, knew that resolve, he had felt it himself less than two days ago when Mo'at came to him and told him of Eytukan's passing, told him that he was now the one who must lead the People.

Jhake met his eyes, and Tsu'tey could feel the fire beginning to kindle. It was easy sometimes to forget that this man was a warrior, experienced beyond his years, and a veteran of more than one battle. So often he acted childish and lighthearted, but then...then there was this other man, and it was the warrior who looked out Jhake's eyes now.

"With your permission, I will speak now," he said, one man to another, "you would honour me by translating."

Had the circumstances been different, Tsu'tey might have taken a moment to rib Jhake about his lack of facility with the language, but not today, not with this. Instead, he simply nodded, acknowledging that he would do as Jhake needed him to do, say to the People what Jhake - what _Toruk Makto_ - needed them to hear.

They turned to address the gathered clan, and Tsu'tey waited in anticipation of what Jhake might say.

He didn't have long to wait.

"The Sky People have sent us a message," Jhake started, and Tsu'tey quickly started his translation, "that they can take whatever they want, and no one can stop them."

It was a sad message to translate, but it must be done. But Jhake was not finished, no, not by a long shot.

"But we will send them a message," Jhake's voice became firmer, stronger, and Tsu'tey found his own voice echoing Jhake's tone.

"You ride out as fast as the wind can carry you," he said, and Tsu'tey couldn't help the brief smile that passed across his face, "you tell the other clans to come," Yes! Yes this was what they needed, to_ do_ something! To _move_ against their attackers! "You tell them Toruk Makto calls to them!"

The crowd had begun to see where this was going as well, and their excited whoops were getting Tsu'tey's blood up, getting his heart racing. He...could almost see what it was about this man that had so drawn Neytiri. He had a certain...magnetism to him, a quality that made him a leader in a way Tsu'tey had never suspected, and it was such an unconscious thing that Tsu'tey thought it likely even Jhake wasn't aware of what he did, not fully.

"You fly now! With me! My brothers, sisters! And we will show the Sky People, that they cannot take whatever they want, and that this...this is our land!"

Yes, this was a man worth flying for, a man worth dying for, if it came to that, and more than any of those things, this was the man he would follow...this was his warrior-brother!

As Jhake and Neytiri began to run to the rim of _ayVitrayä Ramunong_ where the _ayikran_ and Jhake's _toruk_ waited, Tsu'tey was not far behind them, the crowd parting around them and then re-forming behind them as a stream of warriors and hunters ready and willing to go rally the clans. There would need to be a little conference, of course, to determine who would go where, but first, to the air! And he would fly with _Toruk Makto_, one of the lucky few in all the tales to call such a great man "brother".

_"Weflyhuntagain?"_ Eampin asked eagerly as they took to the air.

"_We fly,_" he confirmed to his _ikran_ with a feral grin, "_we fly, and then we __**hunt**__._"

* * *

It wasn't until his eyes followed Jake and Neytiri as they ran for the roosts that Tom really put two and two together and ended up with Holy Frickin' Shit My Brother Tamed _Toruk._ Sure, he'd heard (vaguely) the healer refer to Jake as _Toruk Makto_, but he'd been far too focused on Grace at the time, and yes, in his rousing speech he'd referred to_Toruk Makto_, and pointed at himself, but somehow Tom just hadn't made the connection. The only thing he could think was that with everything else going on, his brain had been just a little slow on the uptake. Clearly he needed rest, and food, and time for calm reflection, not necessarily in that order.

He, Ninat, Norm and Mo'at stood and watched as every able-bodied _ikran makto_ in the clan took off, winging their way into the sky, and then, as the passion Jake had stirred began to settle a little as those who would stay and support the clan, as they always did, remembered themselves and their proper tasks, Tom remembered as well. All this had come about because Grace had (died) gone to Eywa, and now that Jake had gone flying off - and Tom knew that his rousing speech had been the only, best thing to do under the circumstances, although likely not the safest - his sudden departure left Tom and Norm in charge of what to do with Grace's body. He had never had to deal physically with the dead body of someone he cared about before. When their parents had died, their car had burst into flames, their bodies burned beyond the point where the authorities would allow identification by a family member before the crematorium finished the job. As far as taking care of their bodies, all their deaths had meant to him was signing a few papers and picking up two (far smaller than he'd expected) boxes filled with ash. He still wore the small vial he'd had made up with a few grains from each of them, it hung around his human neck now as that body lay in the link bed. Perhaps, though, it was time to do as he had promised he would and release that final scrap, to lay them to rest here, where his Da had always wanted to see.

His thoughts were interrupted as Mo'at laid a gentle hand on his arm. "Come, Tomsuuly, Grace deserves a proper rest. Will you help me to move her shell to where it can be properly adorned and prepared?" He turned and looked at the _Tsahìk_ and was surprised by the sadness in her eyes, as well as the compassion and sympathy.

"_She loved this place, and she loved the People,_" Norm spoke, obviously choking back tears, "_I'm sure she would be touched to be so honoured as to be afforded a burial in such a sacred place, even though she was never actually a part of the clan._"

"_She would not allow herself to become one of us in life,_" Mo'at shook her head, "_but I do not think she will be upset to become one of us in death. There is not one among the Omatikaya who would not acknowledge her now as one of our own. It is sad, only, that she did not survive to live fully among us. She was as a sister to me, in some ways, and I will miss her. It is only right that she be honoured this way._"

Tom knelt and lifted Grace's human body into his arms, barely noticing her slight weight as he bore his sad burden away, following Mo'at and with Norm bringing Grace's avatar behind him. She looked at peace, he thought to himself, at least there was that. In the end, she had found Eywa, and she had found peace. He thought it likely peace wasn't something she had often enjoyed in her life. From what little his Da had ever mentioned of the time he'd known her, before she set out to the stars to become the head researcher and most noted authority on Pandoran botany, she had always seemed haunted by something that drove her to push her body to its limits and ignore its needs in favour of learning more, doing more, being the best at everything she attempted and getting _away_ to the stars. He had always meant to sit down one day with her, in a quiet moment, when they had time, and ask about how they had met, about her side of the story, since Da wasn't there to ask anymore. But there had never been a quiet moment, there had never been a time when they had time, and now the chance was gone forever, the stories lost and faded, only the echoes of them remaining.

Her hair, where it brushed against his arm, was cool. That was wrong, he thought, shaking his head, it should burn like the flames it resembled, like the spirit of her whom it had served as a blazing beacon. He resolved something then. He might not be able to rally a people the way Jake had, but he had his own skill with words, and he would put that to use. He would write a song for her, reminding all those who had known her, and telling all those who would never, now, get the chance, of the spirit of fire that had been Grace Augustine. He might have been an anthropologist, and perhaps in a way he still was, but he was no longer Tom Sully, avatar driver and PhD, he was Tomsuuly, a Singer of the Omatikaya people, and he would give everything he had to ensure that her song was sung by the People forever.

* * *

Max had spent most of the day trying to act normal but living in hidden fear that the guard might have caught a glimpse of him before he knocked the man out. They still hadn't come for him, so by now he was pretty much convinced he was in the clear, which meant it was about time he started making preparations. Jake hadn't specifically said anything, and neither had Grace, but he knew they would be doing something sometime soon, and whatever it turned out to be, he needed to be ready, and the rest of the science group needed to as well. Even though the AVTR program had been temporarily shut down, it wasn't like they were confined to their quarters or anything like that, so nobody thought it strange that he would go visit a friend or two. Especially since the first visit he made was to his assistant, Sunny. She was a cute, attractive young woman, after all. Anyone who happened to see him going into her quarters would simply assume she was more than just his assistant.

Of course, they'd be wrong, but he wasn't about to correct that mistake.

"Mind if I come in?" he leaned casually against the door frame.

"Sure," she shrugged, "nothing better to do."

Once the door was closed he took a deep breath and leaned back against it.

"You were in on it, weren't you?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"In on what?" he attempted an innocent look.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she looked at him. "Really? I know you better than that, Max. You're never more guilty than when you're giving me that look."

"This is a little bigger than the time I put a fake spider on your seat," he pointed out, "maybe my guilty and innocent looks are different given a different level of possible negative outcome," he shrugged.

"Riiiiight," she shook her head, "It's starting, isn't it Max?"

Max sighed, "Yeah, you're right," he said, sitting down, "it's starting. It started last night, and now we have to be prepared for the next move, whenever it comes. I...can't ask anyone to do this, it's going to have to be on an individual basis, people are going to have to make the choice for themselves whether to go against the company."

"You've already made your choice, haven't you," she said thoughtfully, watching him as his hands tugged nervously on the lab coat he was still wearing. She vaguely wondered, and not for the first time, if he slept in the thing, too

"I'm already in this thing up to my neck," he confirmed, "but that was my decision on my own. I'm thinking it's time we had another general meeting, midnight tonight in the Terran plant atrium. You'll pass the word, won't you?"

"I'll let everyone know," she nodded, walking over to pat him on the shoulder. "And take a deep breath, Max, you're wound up tighter than a spring on the verge of breaking, and you can't break just yet; we still need you."

"I'll try," he shook his head, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, "because you're right, I am still needed, and if I start acting guilty too soon, everything is going to go all to Hell." He smiled at her. A little shaky and definitely forced, but at least it was a smile. "Now I'd better get going before the rumours about us spread. I'll see you tonight."

"See you tonight," she smiled back at him, and hers was much more genuine. To be totally honest she wouldn't have objected if those rumours were based on some sort of actuality, but at the same time, she knew it would never come to pass. After all, they had a perfectly good working relationship, and then there was also the rather glaring fact that she really preferred women. All the same, though, she felt a distinct (and odd) sense of honour that anyone would think her worthy of having a relationship of a more intimate nature with the (acting, until Grace returned) head of the biolab.

* * *

It was almost a day after the escape when the hospital finally released Private Ben Fratelli. Whatever Chacón had done when she knocked him out she'd obviously done her job right, because he'd had a moderate concussion and had been semi-incoherent most of the day. He was still quite pale, Quaritch observed as he watched the man standing at attention in front of him, although how much of that was from injury and how much was from pure, unadulterated fear of what his commander was going to do to him for being such an dipshit idiot was impossible to tell.

"So," Quaritch raised an eyebrow at him finally, after the man had stood there in silence for at least five minutes, "tell me what happened. How the hell did one little girl pilot manage to take you out, take out Pearson, steal your keycard and release four very sensitive prisoners?"

"She...had a meal cart, Sir?" Fratelli suggested, going a shade paler as he stared into the middle distance. At least the man had brains enough to know not to try to make eye contact.

"You are familiar with Chacón, I believe," Quaritch said carefully, "and you know she is a pilot?"

"Yes, Sir," Fratelli confirmed carefully.

"And what, exactly, made you think it made any kind of fucked-up sense that I would send a FUCKING PILOT TO DELIVER FOOD TO PRISONERS?" Quaritch leaned in close and yelled right into the man's face. Just in case he wasn't paying complete attention.

Fratelli swallowed hard. "I'm...not sure, Sir. I was too busy staring at her...um..."

Typical. Quaritch rolled his eyes. "Yeah, blame it on your dick, cause that's certainly the closest thing you have to a brain," he said derisively, "I should have you gelded as an example to the rest of the troops of what happens if you let your dick do the thinking for you."

"Yes sir," Fratelli said, his voice very hoarse. Then he went completely white and crumpled, luckily managing not to hit his head on anything on the way down.

Not that Quaritch would really have cared, except that it would make the medical types yell at him if he managed to give the useless waste of air another concussion, and there was nothing more annoying than lecturing nurses. Particularly since none of them was good-looking enough to make it hot. He hit the intercom button perhaps a little harder than he needed to. "Send someone in here to take this useless asswipe back to his quarters," he said, and closed the channel before waiting for confirmation. It wasn't more than half a minute before two men came in and picked him up between them, in any case, as he had known it would be. He was a good commander, after all, men obeyed him because they wanted to, and if fear came into it now and then, well, that was only as it should be as well.

* * *

After a brief, shouted conference in the air, the Omatikaya had broken into four groups, each covering a different quadrant of the forest. Jake had let Neytiri direct him, since of course he had never been outside the territory of his own clan, and at first everything was familiar, the trees stretching out below them, but then all of a sudden the ground changed. Instead of trees, from what he could tell in the darkness they were flying over plains. He and the _toruk_ could see shapes moving below them before long, and he realized they were riders on _pa'li_-back, all rushing in the same direction they were.

Their landing had been yet another grand entrance (he had a feeling there were going to be a lot of those over the next few days) and after the clan's initial stunned reaction the explanations and the rousing speech had begun. The clan's leader, Akway - a man with a very distinctive (and distinctly painful-looking) piercing through the septum of his nose - had been wary at first, but as he heard the story of their clan, and with repeated glances over Jake's shoulder at the calm but terrifying _toruk_ which was obviously partnered with him, it was not so very difficult to convince him to join their cause. He had made an impassioned speech of his own to his people, sending the first of his warriors on their way to the Tree of Souls, and then he took Jake and Neytiri aside.

"_The hour becomes late,_" he said to them, "_and your people look to be tired. Perhaps you will do me the honour of accepting our hospitality for the night? We have spare tents that are often used for visitors and traders when they come, and we would be more than glad to let you use them if you wish._"

Neytiri looked over at Jake and frowned thoughtfully, and he gave a tiny nod, and she as well, then she turned back to him. "_We will accept your hospitality gladly,_" she said, "_my mate and I were separated when our Kelutral fell, and we have had little enough time to ourselves, we...would be glad of a chance to rest,_" she said, and Jake could see her little light-freckles flare up.

He squeezed her hand. It was true, though. They really hadn't had enough time to spend together, and their long flight with her riding behind him, her hands wrapped around his chest and the eddies of the air as it passed over the _toruk_'s wings sending her scent wafting over him had been almost more than he could bear. If it hadn't been for the urgency of their mission, he very likely would have set down somewhere and...well, "ravished" is the only word he could think of to describe what he wanted to do with her. Make love so passionately that the lost themselves completely in one another.

"_And you are only newly mated,_" Akway smirked, "_it is clear in the way that you touch. Come, follow me and I will bring you to a place where you may...sleep. We would be more than honoured to provide such a haven for you._"

* * *

Norm grunted softly as he tried to roll over and get comfortable. Link beds, he decided, were fine for linking, but if you happened to be a side-sleeper (like him) they were hellishly difficult to sleep in. The fact that his whole body hurt from the rough treatment of the Sec-ops types didn't help either. He hadn't exactly had a chance to check, but he was pretty sure he had at least one cracked rib on the right side, if not two, and there was a disturbing tenderness around about the location of his right kidney as well. Neither of the Sully boys had actually unlinked to go to sleep yet either, and the soft hum of their running link units should have been soothing white noise, but after all that had happened over the last couple of days, Norm was too keyed up, so instead of being soothed, he found the noise extremely distracting.

He found he didn't like trying to sleep facing the open lid of the unit, it was a little like lying in a coffin that might come down closed on him at any minute (a grim, morbid thought, but then, it had been a morbid sort of day, and he was now sleeping in the bed until recently occupied by Grace, so...) and besides that it was putting pressure on his sore side, so he rolled over to face the window again, and his eyes met Trudy's where she was lying in a hammock she'd strung up in the small amount of space between the link bed and the wall. He'd been rather surprised when she'd dug around under the seat of her Sampson and pulled out the very traditional Mayan rainbow-coloured knotted hammock, but then, if she carried around a blouse and skirt with her "in case of a special occasion" then why not a hammock as well. I would certainly be more comfortable if she'd ever gotten grounded for the night out in the forest than trying to sleep in the seats in her cockpit!

"Can't sleep?" she asked quietly, giving him a small, sympathetic smile.

"...yeah," he admitted, "it's...been a weird, long day and this "bed" really isn't set up for curling up in comfortably."

"C'mere then," she said, patting the hammock, "we can share."

"Um...are you sure?" he asked, "I mean, what if I make it flip trying to get in?"

She thought for a second, then rolled herself out, hopping down to the floor with alacrity. "You get in first," she gestured, "I have more experience getting into hammocks, and I've shared before. I was just a kid, mind you, but there's some things you never really un-learn."

Norm could have argued the point, but frankly he was too tired, physically, mentally and more than anything emotionally, to reject the idea of being able to sleep curled up with Trudy all night. That was something they'd never yet gotten the chance to do, since even though Grace and Jake knew about their relationship (it was hard to miss the signs, really) there really hadn't been room to share one of the tiny bunks in any position other than her sleeping right on top of him, and that was just a little...well, let's just say it wouldn't really have been very conducive to actual sleep.

He climbed carefully and somewhat awkwardly into the hammock, trying to arrange himself so that he was lying on his side looking out the window without accidentally flipping himself out. He was surprised at how comfortable it was, actually, and the way the net-like knotwork stretched meant that the sides almost curled up around him, seeming to wrap him like an embrace and making him much less worried that he'd accidentally fall out during the night. It was also a heck of a lot more roomy than it looked!

"Comfy?" Trudy asked, smiling at him.

"More than I expected to be," he admitted, and she laughed and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Hey," she protested, "my people wouldn't have been making these things for centuries if they weren't comfortable _and_ practical. Now hold still while I get in too." She pulled out one side and hopped up, sitting (almost falling back against him) briefly before turning and pulling her legs in. The nature of the hammock itself, and the fact that (presumably to conserve space and keep its bundled-up size as small as possible for stowing) it didn't have any spreaders meant that there was almost no choice but to cuddle close when sharing it. Not that Norm was complaining about that fact any. Especially not when she snuggled in against his side, using his shoulder as a pillow and wrapping her free arm around his waist.

"Comfy?" he echoed her question from a moment ago, unable to resist the urge to run his fingers through her hair and pull the elastic out. Her ponytail was cute, sure, but the way her hair curled naturally when it was free was pretty close to how he'd always imagined a goddess might look. It lent a gentleness to her, a femininity that was so often belied by her "tough-as-nails" pilot persona. With him, though, he knew she felt safe enough to let the girly side out a little, and that made him blissfully happy every time it happened. He loved her, and not just the spunky side, but every side of her, and he was thankful every day for whatever it was that had brought him, of all people, to her attention. He would have been more than glad to worship her from afar, but she, in her infinite wisdom (or maybe just boredom?) had decided he was worth her time, and he intended to do everything he could to make sure she never changed her mind about that.

"Very," she smiled, patting him lightly just above the hip.

Unfortunately she managed to land right on the worst of his bruises, and he sucked in a pained breath...which only made his ribs hurt at the sudden, stronger movement, which made him whimper slightly.

"Norm," she frowned, her fingers quickly moving to tug the hem of his shirt up, then she swore. He knew she was taking in the colours of the bruises blooming all over his torso and not liking any of them. "Shit! Why didn't you say something?"

"I'll be fine," he shook his head, "I mean, yeah I'm a bit banged up, but I'm still in one piece. Grace is the one who..." He cut himself off, remembering, "Grace _was_ the one who needed the medical supplies more than I did," he whispered.

Trudy sighed and hugged him very carefully, trying to avoid his bruises. "It's been a really sucky day," she agreed, "a really, really sucky day. You okay to sleep like that? I could hop down again and get some of the medical supplies and fix you up a little."

"Naw, I'm okay," Norm shook his head, pulling her against him a little tighter, "what would really make me feel better right now is just to be here and for you to be here too." He sighed, "and I know that sounds really corny, but..."

She kissed him gently to shut him up. "I know," she said, "it's been a hard day and sometimes we just need to remember that there are things about life that don't suck. I'll let it be for now, then, but only if you promise you'll let me patch you up in the morning."

"I promise," Norm nodded, shifting a little to curl up tighter around her and burying his face in her hair as he closed his eyes and breathed as deeply as his sore ribs would allow. Suddenly he found himself absolutely exhausted, and it wasn't long at all before he was out like a light, the slight swaying movement of the hammock rocking him to sleep and the warm comfort of Trudy's presence keeping him there.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the link-mod, Tom and Ninat were preparing for sleep as well. They had made themselves a bed out of mosses and some soft undergrowth, and it was actually quite comfortable, but Ninat couldn't seem to find a good position for sleeping. She kept tossing and turning, cuddling up against Tom one minute, then shifting so that she was almost lying on top of him, then spooning against him. She'd never acted in such a way before so finally Tom sat up and pulled her into his lap, hugging her.

"_What's wrong?_" he asked her, "_Are you uncomfortable in some way? Is there anything I can do to make it better?_"

"_No, I'm not uncomfortable,_" she sighed, shaking her head, "_I just...I know when I fall asleep then you will go to sleep too, and that means you won't be in your uniltìrantokx, and I know...I __**know**__ that doesn't mean you won't wake up again in the morning and come back to me, but I can't help worrying somehow._"

Tom sighed and kissed her forehead. "_I'm sorry for making you so worried and making you so nervous about me unlinking,_" he said, "_I wish there was more I could do to assure you I..._" he blinked, then smiled a little, "_Would it make you less nervous if you saw with your own eyes that they won't be able to hide me away from you again?_"

"_It...might. Perhaps,_" she bit her lip. "_Ma Tom, what are you thinking?_"

"_I am thinking that my other body is just over there,_" he gestured with his head toward the link-mod, "_and it would be no trouble at all for me to put on a mask and come back out here to see you after I leave this body for the night. Would that make things better?_"

"_It would not make things worse,_" she smiled, "_and I find myself curious to see what your tawtute body looks like. There is no harm in trying this solution and if it does not work then we can move on to the next one._"

"_Alright then,_" Tom laughed lightly, "_let me just lie down and get comfortable, then I'll be right back out to see you._" He kissed her gently before setting her next to him and lying down, curling up in such a way that it would be no trouble for either of them were she to curl herself up against him as she had all the time they'd been traveling.

* * *

Ninat almost held her breath as she waited and watched the door of the strange _tawtute_ structure for Tom's _tawtute_ self to emerge. It wasn't a minute or two later that she heard a soft hiss-whirr sound and the door opened and a small shape stepped through and down the couple of steps onto the ground. His skin was a pale pinkish colour and his hair the colour of the dried grass on the plains, but neither of these was the first thing she noticed.

"_You're injured!_" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet and hurrying over to him, kneeling before him like she might do to a child and reaching a tentative hand out toward the arm he had tied against his body. "_They hurt you!_"

He shook his head, "_it is nothing,_" he insisted, "_it does not matter. It's only my arm, and it will heal, what really hurt was my heart when I was watching and so afraid for you. That's...how I got this,_" he admitted, "_I was angry and foolishly let my anger get the better of me. I tried to hit the one who leads the tawtute warriors, to hurt him even a little so he would know the hurt I was feeling, but I was too slow, this body was too weak._" He laughed a little then, and she thought there wasn't much humour in that sound. "_If my mother had seen my feeble attempts she would have thrown up her hands in disgust and declared this injury all my own fault for being stupid, so I bear it with as much patience as I can. Besides, as long as I'm linked up I don't even notice it, since in that body my arm is fine._"

She didn't quite know what to say to all that so she just wrapped her arms around him carefully - he seemed so breakable, so fragile in this smaller form - and held him against her. She had feared as she slept beneath the fallen _Kelutral_ waiting for him to return to her, but, she was now realizing, his own journey had been far more harsh than hers.

"_Are you feeling any better?_" he asked as he reached his small arms around her as best he could and patted her shoulder.

"_A little,_" she admitted, "_Do you think you might sit with me in this form, just until I fall asleep?_"

"_I'll even sleep out here if that's what you need,_" he offered, but she shook her head and tapped a finger against the glass of his mask.

"_That would not be very comfortable for you, I think,_" she smiled, "_and besides, in this body you are so small I would fear accidentally crushing you in the night._"

"_I'm not that tiny!_" he objected, but he laughed, which had been her intent. "_Why don't you curl up and I'll sit next to you and tell you stories until you fall asleep._"

"_Alright,_" she agreed, "_then tell me of your mother and why you think she would be upset with you for not being able to fight the leader of the warriors even though you are an Ansrropolotxìs and a singer, not a warrior._"

"_Alright,_" he agreed, "_I can do that, no problem._" He sat down near where his other body lay sleeping, and this time as she lay down and curled up against that body to sleep and closed her eyes, her heart didn't start racing with fear, and she felt altogether much more calm. His voice as he told the story of his mother was low and familiar, and she realized that she was going to have to ask him to tell the story again, because there was no way she would stay awake long enough to hear much more than the beginning.

* * *

"Alright," Max sighed as he looked around the slightly ragtag group gathered in the atrium. All the avatar drivers were there, and the link techs and most of the bio- and micro- techs as well. Some of them were dressed for work, some casually, and a couple had actually come in their pajamas, but they were all here, and now he had to tell them news that he had only learned himself a short while ago when he checked his private messages, "you all know why you're here, but before we go any further, I have a bit of news to share, and it's something that might change the way many of you think of the events of the past day or two." He took a deep breath and looked down at his hands, "I have been contacted by the escapees; Dr. Norm Spellman sent me a message which I've only just had a chance to access securely, and it pains me more than you all know to tell you this, but Grace Augustine has died."

There was a chorus of gasps around the table, and more than one choked-back sob, but it was Nala Ombayo, the zoologist avatar driver, who asked the question he was sure they were all thinking.

"What happened?" she asked, and as he looked up to meet her eyes he could see there were tears threatening to spill from them.

"Apparently she was shot during their escape," Max said softly, "whether deliberately or accidentally Norm didn't say, and although drastic measures were taken by the Omatikaya to try to preserve her life her wounds were too great. She died not long after sundown."

"Damn Quaritch, that twisted sumbitch," LeJun Dezwagger ran his fingers through his dreadlocks in a now-familiar nervous gesture, re-fixing them into a messy ponytail as Max had seen him do a hundred - maybe a thousand times before, "and damn Selfridge for letting him run roughshod over everyone here... What's the use in being "protected" if you can't bloody move!"

"Thank you for telling us this sad news," Nandu Maran sighed, "but as you say you only learned it a short time ago, this meeting must have had a different purpose in your mind when you called us together."

"I did," Max nodded to him with a vague smile. "Thank you for reminding me. This latest news only re-enforces what I had already intended to say to you. All of you know what has happened these last couple of days, first the attack on the Omatikaya's sacred grove to incite a violent retaliation from them, then the "sanctioned" felling of their ancestral home," Max made air quotes around the word "sanctioned" and he knew his derision of the tactics of the military arm of the RDA was more than clear in his voice, "and then the incarceration of those among the AVTR program who had become closest to the clan and, as we've now learned, the death of one of the most influential scientists on this planet... I don't need to remind any of you of the fact that this very program is on shaky ground. Selfridge has suspended all scientific endeavours and even locked us out of the link room, and I know you avatar drivers are very worried about your other bodies."

"At least we were able to convince him to let the doctors out there to put them on IV drips," Nala shook her head, "there's nothing he hates more than having to write off expensive equipment, after all."

"True," Max nodded, "and that may play to our advantage if things go the way they very likely will. I had called you all here to discuss the possibility of some sort of organized defiant action against the company, when the time seemed right and when it might have some actual effect, but there was one other bit of news Norm had to pass along in his message: The Omatikaya, with Jake Sully at their head as some sort of semi-mythical figure which he didn't go into nearly enough detail about, have begun the process of spreading out across the continent to call upon all the clans. There is a war coming, people, and we need to know our place in it."

"I'm in," LeJun said quickly, "whatever we plan, I'm in."

"And me," Nala agreed, "there's no way I wouldn't be!"

...and so it went around the group, all the avatar drivers quickly promising their support, and the link techs, and the micro techs, and the biolab techs... They knew what was coming, they knew it all had the possibility to be completely futile, but at the same time, they knew it had to be done, and so they would do it, because when it came right down to brass tacks, as his father used to say, they were human, with not only humanity's failings, but its remarkable ability for empathy as well, and they had seen who the true villains were in this fight and wanted to prove that not all of their race were totally blind.

* * *

Once they were in their borrowed tent for the night, and the door was closed and they had explored the interior and knew where the basin of water was, and the belongings-racks and the bed, Neytiri turned to Jhake and before she could even ask what they might do to fall asleep he had his arms around her tight, as though he thought she might disappear, and he was kissing her desperately. This wasn't like when they had first mated, in the innocence of the grove of _utral aymokriyä_ before its destruction; it wasn't even like the needy, fleeting kisses they had shared as they waited for Grace to be ready for the ceremony in that fleeting time after their reunion; no, this was an insistent, almost _forceful_ kissing, and his hands moved to strip her and clutch her to him with strength just this side of bruising, although she was not upset at what some might think of as slightly rough treatment. She was a strong hunter, and could stand up to it, but more than that, the sense she got from him as she linked her _tswin_ to his was not one of anger, but of intense need, and great sadness. He had not really had a chance to mourn, she realized, neither of them had, and while she might have thought once that to engage in mating as a form of mourning seemed disrespectful at best, seeing it through his eyes, through his heart, she understood. He was still alive, and she was, and to join together in proof of their love and life was to show Grace that they would not let her passing set them back, that although they were sad (and they _were_ sad) they would use that sadness to make things better.

And right now, making things better meant falling onto the surprisingly soft mattress on the floor of the tent, their bodies intertwining as he sank into her and she welcomed him in with open arms.

"Oh God, Neytiri," Jhake whimpered as he kissed her again and again, and she could sense the fear deep inside him that somehow he would lose her as well, that she might be torn from him by the storm that was soon to come.

"_Mawey, ma Jhake,_" she soothed him, her hands stroking the far-too-tight muscles of his back as she wrapped one leg up around his hip and rubbed her heel just at the spot where his butt flowed into the back of his leg, "I will not leave you again, I promise you this."

His whole body trembled, but finally he melted against her, his strokes within her slowing and changing from desperate to delicious. His fear wasn't gone, she could tell, but for now he had fought it back with her help, and she intended to make sure it didn't surface again.

To that end, she decided it was about time she tried something she had thought of in the dreams which had kept her company as she waited for him to return to her. Picking a moment when he was deepest within her, she grinned and rolled them over, using her momentum to pin him down to the mattress.

He grinned up at her, not disconcerted at all by her taking this initiative. "Well," he said, "I guess it's your turn to do all the work."

She grinned back down at him. "Lazy," she teased, "I am always the one who does the work." She raised herself up a little on her knees and then slid back down, experimenting with tempos and rhythms, focusing on his arousal and working to bring him almost to the point where he could take no more again and again before backing off.

Finally, with a pleased sort of growl and a laughing grin on his face, he reached out to dig his fingers into her hips and direct her how to move, and all of a sudden their tender/teasing/playful lovemaking turned serious again. She could sense within him the need to lose himself inside her completely, and she was only to willing to give him anything and everything that he might need. The pace he led her at was almost frantic, and the friction soon brought her to the brink as well, as he pulled her body down against his and fused his lips to hers in a searing kiss and thrust hard one, two, three final times within her before slumping down into the embrace of the mattress, his fingers going limp and sliding down her hips and off to the sides.

They were both panting hard, worn out from their exertions and from the mad emotional stress of the day, and then he gave one low, quiet whimper and clutched her to him, burying his face in the crook of her neck, and she could feel the tears she knew he would later swear he had never shed. She rolled them onto their sides, keeping herself wrapped around him, and stroked his hair soothingly. She would never tell anyone about this moment of weakness, and for now she would be the one to be strong for him. She knew soon enough he would be the one to be strong for her again, and then she would allow herself to grieve this latest loss, but for now, for just a little while, she did what she had been told was the sacred duty of a mate but had never understood until this second; she let the strongest man she knew be weak, knowing she would never think less of him for it.

There were no more words spoken between them as they finally fell into an exhausted sleep, their bodies still tucked intimately close and wrapped around each other in the embrace that should never have been broken.

* * *

**Well! Actually I realize quite a bit of this story consisted of people going to sleep, but it was a necessary, slightly mournful chapter, perhaps not quite as uplifting as I would have hoped for a christmas present, but there you go. With any luck (keep your fingers crossed folks! We have a windstorm here and this (and the other) was delayed by a brief power-outage) I'm hoping to get the next chapter of Histories out sometime today as well, as it's mostly written and just needs a few holes filled in.**

**In any case, now, for what you've all been waiting for with baited breath:**

**Vocab:**

_**Ìnglisì **_**- English language**  
_**riti **_**- stingbat**  
_**Olo'eyktan**_** - clan leader**  
_**Toruk Makto**_** - legendary hero of the Na'vi and/or Jake!**  
_**ayVitrayä Ramunong **_**- The Well of Souls**  
_**ikran / ayikran **_**- banshee(s)**  
_**toruk **_**- great leonopteryx**  
_**makto **_**- ride, or, colloquially, rider**  
_**Tsahìk**_** - spiritual leader**  
_**pa'li**_** - direhorse**  
_**Kelutral**_** - Hometree**  
_**uniltìrantokx**_** - dreamwalker body, empty avatar**  
_**tawtute **_**- sky person, human**  
_**Ansrropolotxìs **_**- this isn't a real word, it's how Ninat attempts to say "Anthropologist"**  
_**utral aymokriyä**_** - tree of voices**  
_**tswin**_** - queue  
**


	36. Chapter 35: Buying Chances, Killing Time

***sigh* yes, I know this took far too long to come out, but you can bet good money it'll be followed much more quickly! I've made a promise to finish this fic (although that doesn't include any of the side stories, or the sequil I'm already planning) in a year and a day of the time I started it, so...a little under a month. Yes I'm insane, but I have lots of uninterrupted time this month, so I should be able to do it. It's all about not having to do silly things like chores ^_~**

**And yes, you will get that chapter of Histories I promised you all, it's just hit a little speedbump in connection, but in between working on Brotherhood chapters I hope to resolve the issue so it can come out to entertain you as well, and I promise, it _is_ entertaining XD**

**Anyway, I'll shut up now and let the chapter get on with itself!  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 35: Buying Chances, Killing Time

Taka and Carlos had known they wouldn't make it all the way to the Well of Souls before nightfall - that much had been obvious - and it had been a very long day, so a couple of hours after the sun had set, the two of them had pulled up at a likely spot - it looked as though it had been used by some of the Omatikaya in their own journey - and settled in to rest in alternating watches once again.

It was not an easy night. The sounds of the forest all around them had their ears swiveling and their tails twitching, and they didn't dare build a fire for fear it would attract unwanted attention to them. Taka was well aware (although he didn't mention it to Carlos) that probably the only thing keeping them truly safe was the presence of the young thanator cubs. They were nowhere near full grown, but there were three of them, and even a starving forest banshee or pack of viperwolves would be leery of attacking for fear of retaliation from their parent, even if that parent wasn't obviously present.

Sometime after midnight, during Taka's second watch, all three cubs suddenly sat straight up from where they had been resting in a pile together, their crests flaring and their eyes brightly alert, looking off behind where Taka was sitting. He looked around, but even with the bioluminescence of the night and his avatar's superior eyesight he didn't see anything. Then again, from his research he knew that thanators could sense things from probably ten or more kilometers away, so they could be sensing something far beyond what he would be able to see even in the daytime anyway. Especially given the thickness of the jungle in the area where they had bunked down for the night.

"What's up, _chibi-tachi_?" he asked softly.

The three got to their feet, and each one brushed reassuringly against Taka as they walked out into the forest behind him, although they didn't take the time to link with him. It worried him a little, but he tried not to let it bother him. He knew that they were his children and they wouldn't just leave and not come back.

* * *

The children, of course, had no intention of leaving whatsoever, but they had sensed something out beyond the range they knew their daddy could see, and they didn't want it - hmm...her...not it - coming any closer before they talked to her. Ama stepped into the lead, with the other two flanking her, and they approached the area where they knew the other was with caution, but also with self-assurance. Anything else would be a sign of weakness, after all, and they didn't want to give the wrong impression. They stopped two grown bodylengths away from where they knew the grown female was watching and then they bowed politely, waiting for her to make the next move.

Finally, after a space of time where Ama lost count of her heartbeats, there was an amused rumble and the grown female stood from where she had been watching and gave a casual stretch before approaching them.

«_And what brings you three little ones into my hunt-territory during darkness hunt-time?_» she asked, linking with Ama. Ama could hear both amusement and wariness in her posture/voice, and it made a small shiver move over her skin.

«_We travel from one place to another,_» Ama said, trying to be casual but respectful at the same time. This was, after all, the first true _person_ she had spoken to since their birth-mother died. Daddy and Mommy were wonderful, but talking to them wasn't quite the same, they couldn't scent-gesture, not to mention their funny little ear-flaps lacked the amount of expression a frill could give.

«_Are the blueones you smell of your prey, or may I hunt them?_» the female asked, «_I would not wish to deprive traveling children of their food, although why you travel without your mother and father worries me. Have you perhaps been separated from them?_»

«_NOT PREY!_» Ama "shouted" sternly, making the grown female almost draw back in surprise, «_The blueones are Daddy and Uncle Carlos; Daddy took care of us after our Momma became meat, the big tree-momma sent him to us, you __**can't**__ eat!_»

«_Calm, little one, calm,_» the grown female purred soothingly, «_I did not know. It is...surprising that a blueone would take care of three cubs, but I suppose even the blueones must listen to the tree-mother. Sometimes what she says is strange, but she is the tree-mother and must be obeyed._»

«_Yes, she must,_» Ama agreed, somewhat mollified by the female's easy acquiescence to her forbidding.

«_I am curious now,_» The female's tone was much more friendly, «_I wish to come closer and see this strange blueone father of yours with my eyes. I will not let him see me, of course,_» she added quickly, «_I know that always frightens blueones, but I wish to be sure I will__ recognise__ him so that in future I do not accidentally injure him or attempt to hunt him._»

«_Then we will let you come close enough to see,_» Ama agreed, «_and I think you would be surprised. I don't think Daddy would be scared of you._» She chittered in amusement, «_Daddy is unusual for a blueone, all the other blueones we have met, even Mommy, had fearsmell from seeing us at first, but never Daddy._»

«_Even so,_» the female rattled her quills with amusement, «_cubs are one thing; a grown person is another._»

* * *

Taka, as he sat and waited for the children to return, was suddenly struck with a lifting of the small hairs at the nape of his neck, and a full-body shiver down his spine. He could swear someone was watching him, but... He forced himself to remain calm. Viperwolves wouldn't come close unless the children had gone quite a ways away, and anything else...wasn't worth thinking about, really. He turned at a soft susurration of leaves slipping over an exposed root to his right, and turned his head to see the children returning. He smiled. It must have just been them watching and his avatar's latent instincts reacting to a predator's gaze in the night.

"Where did you go?" he asked them with a smile as they came up and rubbed their heads against him before curling up around him again.

«_There was an auntie of the People in smell/sense range,_» Ama yawned, «_to say hello is politeness, and tell her we are only travelling, not taking territory._»

Taka's eyes went wide. So it _hadn't_ been just his instincts overreacting after all, he really _had_ been being watched. "What did she say to you?" he asked.

«_She was surprised you were our daddy,_» Ama purred, «_but I told her no hunting you, so don't worry, she promised not to._»

"Thank you, Ama-_chan_," Taka scratched at the base of her frill, "I appreciate that."

For the rest of his watch, he peered out into the illuminated darkness, looking for a hint of a large thanator body. Not that he expected to see her, even if she was only a foot or two from him, he was sure she was far too good a hunter for that, but he was as curious as always. He elected, though, not to mention the near encounter to Carlos when they traded sleeping shifts. The geologist was...well...not a coward, but also not what one would generally call an "outdoors-man", and there was no sense frightening him over something that was no threat to him. After all, why make the man jumpy when the smell of fear rolling off him would only attract the attention of any other predators that happened to be around.

* * *

Jake woke early, and although the temptation was there to simply roll over, key in the proper codes and whatnot to start the link (he knew by now, Norm and Grace...oh Grace...had taught him in quiet moments up in the mountains, and it was a skill that he'd picked up as quickly as he could, seeing as how it was vital to the new life he was leading) but the thought of Grace reminded him of how she would scold him (never again, damnit, except in his head...but that would have to be enough) if he didn't at least get up, tend to this body's needs and feed it before going into link, so he hauled himself laboriously out into his 'chair and wheeled over to where they'd moved the fridge.

He had to grin as he passed the still-sleeping Norm and Trudy in the hammock. Such an unlikely couple, but as much as he teased Norm about it now and then, he was happy for them. They'd managed to find something good in the middle of nowhere, and he hoped it would keep both of them alive in the fight to come, the need to come home to each other, to know the other would be there... he would have kept both of them out of the fighting if he thought he could, but at the same time, he knew better. Certainly there would be no keeping Trudy "safe at home" and Norm was...well, surprisingly enough, given all outward appearances, Jake had learned that Norm was something of a "man of action" at heart, and Jake suspected he would want to take some sort of substantial part in the fighting.

Tom, at least, could possibly be convinced to stay closer to "home" but... Jake sighed. He wouldn't force his brother not to fight, if he wished to. He was the last one who would ever try to stop someone for fighting for what they believed in - for what they needed to keep safe. They only had two machine guns though, and he knew he would be taking one of them. Tom and Norm could fight over the other, he supposed.

His morning ablutions taken care of, and one disgusting algaepak sucked down as quickly as possible, Jake hauled himself back up into the link bed and started his link running. With any luck, Neytiri would still be sleeping - he'd managed to tire them both out fairly totally last night, after all - and he could wake her up the way he'd always wanted to but had never had the chance to. That first morning, after their mating in the grove, he had wanted to go in early, to be there to tease his fingers over her soft skin and turn her in his arms to kiss her awake...perhaps today would be his chance to make that idea a reality.

* * *

Neytiri woke with a slow haziness, her body aching in a most delicious way, almost like the ache produced by a good run, but so much more. She laid very still, listening for any threat, but there was nothing but the very early sounds of people moving about outside their tent, and Jhake's soft breaths. His nose was nuzzled just below her right ear, and it was causing a few stray hairs there to tickle her. She moved her hand a little to slip the bits of hair behind her ear, and was surprised when he reached up and took her hand, bringing her fingers to his mouth where he lightly kissed each one.

"Morning," he whispered, his just-woken voice a pleasant growl against the bones of her jaw.

"Good morning," she replied with a smile, unsure whether she wanted to roll over and kiss him or just stay exactly where she was and enjoy the way his body was wrapped around hers so comfortably.

Her decision was made for her, though, when he began placing light, careful kisses around behind her ear and then down along her neck. She slid her hand over his cheek and into his hair, and then he rolled her, covering her still-bare chest with kisses.

She stroked his hair and watched him with wide eyes, seeing yet another side of her surprisingly-complicated mate as he stopped and let his head rest on her chest, just taking slow, deep breaths.

"We can't stay," he said finally with a deep sigh, lifting himself off her, although he did lean down for one last kiss, "even though I'd stay here with you all day if I thought we could get away with it, and never even put on any clothes. Sometimes having a duty really sucks."

"Soon," she said, kissing his forehead and running her fingers through his still-childish braids, "soon we will have days to ourselves if we so wish. We will drive out the _sawtute_ who trouble us, and then you and I will fly somewhere private, where no one can find us, and we will spend as many days there as you wish, and," she giggled, "perhaps you might tell me more about this "not putting on any clothes" thing."

Jhake laughed gleefully, and Neytiri was inordinately proud of herself for making him so joyous at such a difficult time. "We'll definitely have to talk more about that," he agreed, leaning down and kissing her forehead before he rolled off her and sat up, "but later. Right now we have to put those clothes on so we can go have some breakfast and head out to our next stop. Um...where is our next stop again?"

"The eastern sea," she said, "and from there we will start to return, making stops at tribes along the way. The _ikran _people of the eastern sea are farthest away so they will need most time to join us."

"Right," he nodded, donning his "_Toruk Makto_" self as he donned his loincloth and armour; his back becoming straighter and his face serious, the smiles of moments ago swallowed back into himself, although she knew now they were not gone forever.

Once she was dressed as well, he held out his hand to her wordlessly, and wordlessly she took it, squeezing it gently. Where he led, she would now follow, just as he had followed her as she taught him the ways of the forest. It was right, she felt; it was...balanced.

* * *

When Tom woke, he immediately noted that Jake was already in link. He just hoped that his impetuous twin had remembered to eat... Not that he could blame him for wanting to spend as much time in link as possible. After all, Tom was of entirely the same mind right now. He took only enough time to bolt some food and do...all the necessary first thing in the morning things before slipping into the link bed. He laughed as he closed his eyes. Norm and Trudy still weren't even up yet!

He woke up again with his arms around Ninat and a slightly uncomfortable tingling in one arm, which was probably the only thing that had any hope of getting him moving. He kissed her forehead lightly and shifted himself, trying to extricate the arm that was under her shoulder without waking her.

It didn't work, of course, and her eyes flickered open and she smiled at him.

"_Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you,_" he rubbed her shoulder, "_go back to sleep, I'm just going to do really boring things for the next little while._"

"_Oh?_" She stretched against his side as he sat up, making the thought of just rolling over again incredibly tempting, "_What are the boring things you will be doing?_"

"_Exercise,_" he shrugged, "_The things that have happened recently made me realize that I need to get back in the habit. If my mother knew how much I let myself go she would scold me._"

"_Exercise? This early in the morning?_" she yawned, "_Perhaps I will just watch whatever it is that you think your mother would scold you for not doing while I continue to lie here on this comfortable moss._"

That made Tom laugh. "_I told you that you didn't need to get up,_" he pointed out, starting with stretches. His avatar was definitely in better shape than his human body, he hadn't _only_ been sitting around with the singers while he learned, after all, there had been plenty of basic woods-lore that he'd had to learn as well, and all the different teaching-songs for plants and such were much more easily learned when one knew what each of the plants being sung about actually looked like, of course, but even though he had been active, it hadn't been the kind of structured activity that kept the reflexes honed like Mom had always insisted on.

He could feel her eyes on him as he started into the first katas, and he had to admit he didn't mind it one little bit. His form was probably off a little bit, but as he closed his eyes and just focused on the movements of his muscles and the slow in- and exhalations of his breath, it was almost as if he was back at home (any one of the series of small on-base apartments that had been "home" over the years) with mom snapping out corrections and Da chuckling in the background because he knew the reason they were never allowed to look at Mom's face when she was critiquing their katas was because she had a major soft spot for them, and they could've taken massive advantage of it.

He was through the first three forms and well into the fourth, and beginning to feel a pleasant aching burn in some of the muscles he hadn't used in this way in a while (or, well, ever in this body) when a light tug on his tail finally managed to get his attention. His eyes blinked open and he turned with the motion of the kata to see his mate trying to look innocent, although her hand was still wrapped around his tail.

"_You were somewhere far away, ma Tom,_" Ninat smiled at him, "_Mother came to say it is time for us to eat._"

"_Ah,_" he smiled, letting his arms relax, "_I am feeling a little hungry._"

"_As am I,_" she moved her hand to his and interlaced their fingers, then led him over to where the rest of the family had settled themselves, along with Louise, who was yawning and still nibbling on something that looked suspiciously like some sort of preserved _teylu_.

"_It is not quite the usual circumstances,_" Tìyana smiled at them, "_but we have much to celebrate. Not only your mating and that we now have a new son,_" she winked at Kxawn'e, "_but also that both of you survived, by the grace of Eywa, to be with us again today._"

Ninat smiled at everyone sitting around the food they were expected to eat, "_Yes,_" she agreed, "_we are both safe and returned to the arms of our family, with Eywa's grace, although I have to admit there were moments when I was trapped that I feared I would never see any of you again._"

"_Well here you are,_" Kxawn'e patted his daughter's shoulder. "_And just because the circumstances are a little unusual, it doesn't mean that the usual steps shouldn't be observed._" He turned to Tom, "_so, the usual question stands; did you dream well?_"

Tom smiled gently over at his new mate. "_We did,_" he nodded, "_we dreamed very well._"

* * *

After sitting with Cathy's more-than-welcoming in-laws while Tom and Ninat ate their "special breakfast" (Louise couldn't help remembering the much simpler breakfast Cathy had made for her and Taka not so very long ago with a sense of nostalgia and pride. Her friend had done really quite well by them, especially considering what she'd had to work with), Cathy and Louise walked together through and around the groups of Omatikaya, trying to find something useful to do. In the end, they decided that since both of them had some amount of training with Pandoran flora, they could probably best be helpful by finding out from the healers if there were any herbs that were needed, that they might be able to go out and collect. They headed in the direction where the "field hospital" of sorts had been set up. Louise caught sight of Pämeya's familiar form and waved as they picked up speed and headed over to her.

"_Good morning,_" Louise smiled at her, "_we're here to be helpful if we can._"

"_Good morning,_" Pämeya smiled in return, "_of course we would be glad for any help, but...pardon my confusion, I was not aware either of you had any healing training._"

"_Oh indeed no,_" Cathy laughed, shaking her head, "_we didn't think to be helpful in that way; both of us have some training and experience with plants, although not in relation to healing, but we thought perhaps with a little direction we could be sent out to help gather those herbs necessary to your purposes. It would be something useful we could do._"

"_If they wish to go out gathering I do not see why they should not,_" a male voice said, and Louise looked over to see a Na'vi man, tall and graceful-limbed, stride over to Pämeya and place a hand on her shoulder. Those descriptors, of course, would describe any Na'vi, but they were especially apt in this case. The man looked to be almost a foot taller than most of the others around him. "_These, then, are the uniltìranyu women?_"

"_They are,_" Pämeya nodded, "_Ka'tsi, of course, is mated to one of our singers, and Luuisì is my new patient._" She turned to the women, "_This unusually-tall specimen of maleness is my mate, Tun'ut._"

"_Pleased to meet you, Tun'ut,_" Cathy nodded with a smile, and raised an eyebrow at Pämeya, "_he __**is**__ a little on the tall side, isn't he?_"

"_It does seem to be the first thing people notice,_" the midwife nodded, a secretive little smile on her face, "_I must admit it does not bother me that he is easy to find in a crowd._"

"_I am most pleased to meet you,_" Tun'ut turned to Louise, "_and wish to extend my greatest thanks. It is because of you that my mate and children were far from the danger when Kelutral fell._"

"_Well, it's not as though I had anything to do with it,_" Louise shook her head, but then she laughed a little, "_I'm pretty sure this whole situation is my mate Taka's fault,_" she said as she patted her belly lightly. There wasn't any really noticeable change there yet, but it was only a matter of time, she knew.

Tun'ut laughed at that. "_I imagine it is very likely so,_" he agreed, "_in that case, I ought to find your mate and thank him myself in person. There are some things, after all, that only another male can fully understand._"

"_Unfortunately that will have to wait,_" Louise shook her head, "_the tawsìp which brought us here was full, and he and our friend Carlos had to walk, along with our fa'li and our...other children._" Louise knew that very soon there would have to be an explanation to a great many people about the thanator cubs and the fact that they were...well, "tame" wasn't exactly the right word, but that they were not a threat to any of the Na'vi here.

"_Ah,_" Tun'ut nodded, "_my mate has told me of the falulukan that you and your mate are raising as your own. I was...surprised, but then, I suppose Eywa has love for all types of creatures, even terrifying ones._"

That made Louise laugh. "_They aren't so terrifying once you get to know them,_" she assured him, "_but then, you'll see when they get here._"

"_We all will I'm sure,_" he agreed, "_Now, did I hear you wish to help with the gathering of herbs?_"

"_We do,_" Cathy nodded, "_we wish something helpful to do; we wish to be useful._"

"_Then I will send you each out with a young trainee who will know which herbs we need and how they must be harvested,_" he nodded, "_and I thank you for your eagerness to be put to work. It speaks well of your people._"

"_Our...people?_" Louise blinked. She didn't think most of the human RDA types would be so eager to grub out in the jungle digging plants, but perhaps she wasn't being entirely charitable about them. She didn't know every single one of them personally, after all.

"_Yes, your people, the Uniltìranyu clan,_" Tun'ut shrugged. "_Is that not their name?_"

Louise looked over at Cathy, and her friend met her gaze with what was probably an equally surprised look. "_I suppose, in a way, we dreamwalkers __**are**__ a clan of our own,_" she said thoughtfully, "_I've never really thought of it that way. Things work...a little differently among the sky people. Ask me some time when we have the time to talk for half a day and perhaps I might be able to explain it._"

"_I will have to do that,_" he laughed, "_but now you have other, more pressing concerns._" He raised one arm and waved as he called the names of what turned out to be two young women, both seemingly around their mid-teens. "_Newey, Tuke, these two uniltìranyu wish to help us gather our herbs, please keep in mind that they do not know the forest, and we are not in an area with the usual protection of our outriders and boarder walkers, so do not go too far in search of anything unusual._"

"_Yes, of course we will take them gathering,_" one of the girls smiled, "_and we won't go far._" She turned to Louise, "_I am Newey, and this is Tuke,_" she gestured to her friend, "_Come, the best herb meadows we have found nearby so far are this way._"

As Louise and Cathy followed the girls away from the healers' camp, and up and out into the forest, Louise couldn't help still thinking about the casual comment Tun'ut had made. The avatar drivers, well, more than that the scientists, really were their own "clan" separate from the rest of the RDA. Their purposes for being here were far different, their general motivations on a purely personal level were extremely different, even the _language_ they used was different, and she wasn't just talking about the fact that someone from the AVTR program was far more likely to be at least semi-fluent in Na'vi.

* * *

As his group of hunters flew between one clan's land and that of the next, Tsu'tey looked down and suddenly realized where he was. They were near the boarders of their own territory, but more to the point, they were currently flying over the territory ranged by Natsmukan's pack. He knew that the pack also ranged quite far, and that there was a chance they could be put at risk during the (inevitable) upcoming battle, and he decided that while he was so close, it was perhaps best if he warned his old friend of the approaching danger. There were those new young mouths to feed, after all. Four, if he remembered correctly. He signaled to the man flying next to him that he was going to set down, but not to wait for him, that he would catch up. The man probably thought he simply had to relieve himself, and although he likely would take advantage of his time on the ground for such necessary functions, he wasn't about to correct the misinterpretation. Natsmukan had been his own secret this long, and he had no intention of changing that at this late point in life.

He landed near where he knew the _nantang_ pack's traditional den to be, and told Eampin to perch himself in a tree or hunt, as it suited him, then walked carefully as close as he considered safe to the den and sat, waiting for his _nantang_ brother to show up. He didn't have to wait long. There wasn't even a scout to check him out first, Natsmukan came out himself, sitting down in front of Tsu'tey and offering his _tswin_.

«_Good see large brother again,_» the _nantang_ panted happily, «_why so soon here to talk small brother again?_»

Tsu'tey sighed. "_Not for a good reason,_" he shook his head, "_much has happened among my people, and now, far too soon, I am leader. There will soon be a battle - our enemies have destroyed our home, and we are gathering the other clans. It is likely that our enemies will attack us again, in force, and I worry that they may try to pass through the lands of your pack._"

«_This is a maybe bad thing, yes,_» Natsmukan agreed, pressing his muzzle against Tsu'tey's shoulder, «_I will have mate move pups away. Which direction I should move them?_»

"_My best guess would be away from the area of ayVitraya Ramunong,_" Tsu'tey advised him, "_that is where my people have gathered, and it is likely there that the battle will come._" He shook his head, "_It might be best if you moved the whole pack, to be safe._"

«_Large brother,_» Natsmukan chided, «_we are not so weak. We can keep ourselves safe from strange pink ones._»

Tsu'tey sighed. He knew better than to try to explain how different this invading force would be from the small groups - "squads", Jhake had called them - which had invaded the forest before. Natsmukan was a leader of his people, in his own way, and with supreme confidence in his own strength. "_As you say, brother,_" he said, "_you are not weak._" he saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see a not-quite-half-grown _nantang_ pup poking its head out, probably curious where its father had gone and what the strange-smelling visitor was doing there. "_But I think perhaps you need to return to your family,_" he said, smiling now, "_and I, too, have things I must take care of._"

Natsmukan turned to look as well, and there was both pride and exasperation in his mental voice. «_Curious one is much work,_» he admitted, «_but brave, like I was when his size. Large brother be wary and strong defending territory, win new, strong mate, then visit small brother._»

"_I will do my best,_" Tsu'tey nodded, rubbing a hand over the _nantang_'s shoulder before standing, their bond of _tsaheylu_ disconnecting as Natsmukan loped back over to the pup, nudging it with his muzzle to make it return to the hidden area of the den, and its mother and siblings. There was so much more at stake than just the losses suffered by the Omatikaya and the need for vengeance against the _sawtute_, and he was reminded most strongly of that as he watched the _nantang_ father and child disappearing into the depths of the forest like smoke, leaving almost no trace of their existence at all.

* * *

Sometime not long after midday, Taka realized they were finally getting close to their destination (at least, if he could trust the sense he was getting from his _pa'li_, and the animal seemed to know where it was going, so...) and began to look around, paying more and closer attention to the forest around them. If it hadn't been for the 'horses they never would have found their way here, even following in the footsteps of what remained of the Omatikaya clan the going would have been slow; the jungle was not friendly to tracks.

His right ear twitched as he thought he heard something that sounded like women talking off in that direction, and then all of a sudden the thanator cubs took off heading that way too. He quickly urged his mount to turn and follow them, and arrived into a clearing just after he heard someone scream with fear, and someone else reassure the screaming one.

The sight that met his eyes was one he was only too happy to see. The children had found their mother! Louise seemed to have been gathering plants of some type, as she had a Na'vi-made basket strapped onto her back, and she was kneeling in the middle of the field with her arms wrapped around the cubs' heads, all three of them having pressed themselves as close to her as they could manage and purring like crazy. He vaguely noted an adolescent Na'vi girl staring wide-eyed at the scene before her and slowly trying to inch away from them, but then Louise looked up and met his eyes, and nothing else mattered but getting off the horse and adding himself to the group mobbing her.

After a minute or so of "family hug" time, the babies backed off a little and made room so that he could hug her properly, and he took full advantage, tucking her head under his chin and holding her to him tightly.

"I missed you," he whispered, "I hope you've been managing alright."

"Cathy and her in-laws kindof adopted me, at least as far as giving me a place for my avatar to sleep and bringing me in on breakfast," Louise nodded, "how was your trip? I see you made it in one piece."

"Mostly quiet," he smiled, electing not to mention the middle of the night observation by the full-grown thanator, at least for now. "What are you doing out here?"

"Being useful," she explained, "Newey here is helping me collect medicinal herbs. I have a feeling we're going to need everything we can get. Since we left you at the Hometree site there's been..." She whimpered slightly and hugged him with a sense of desperation he'd never felt from her - and they weren't even linked in _tsaheylu_ right now. "Taka, I didn't just want to leave a note for you in the rooms at Site 12, and it seems like whenever I've been awake you've been in link but...Grace has died. Apparently she was shot while she and Norm and the Sully boys were escaping...I still don't have the whole story...and even though Mo'at tried this crazy thing of transferring her to her avatar she...didn't make it."

"Shit," Taka swore, "that's just...shit, what're we supposed to do now?"

"Jake Sully's taken charge, kindof," Louise explained, "he's...well, it's a long story, but anyway practically everybody that can has taken to the air and they're gathering the clans together. There's going to be war, Taka, the only question is when."

"Well," Carlos said, dismounting somewhat awkwardly (frankly neither one of them was feeling particularly comfortable in the nether regions right now, they'd spent far more time than they wanted to on direhorses in the last two days, and those backs were wide!) and walking over to join them, "I never thought it would come to this, but at the same time I'm somehow not surprised. Grace is...was..." he choked up for a moment, and swallowed hard, "she was an amazing woman, and she'll be missed."

"She will," Louise agreed, "she definitely will." Finally she loosened her grip and pulled away from Taka just a little. "_Newey,_" she said, switching to Na'vi, "_I think perhaps it is time we headed back. Our baskets are not full, but it would probably be best if you and I accompanied my mate and our friend back to the camp at Vitrautral. After all, none of the guardians are likely to__ recognise__ them, and we wouldn't want anything to happen accidentally._"

Newey was still eyeing the cubs warily, but she nodded. "_That is probably a good idea, ma Luuisì,_" she agreed, "_we can always come back out to gather more herbs once your mate is settled in._"

Walking their 'horses now, since their companions were on foot, they made what had to be a somewhat odd procession as they headed back through the fringes of the forest and out to the lip of the bowl which cradled what had to be the largest "tree of voices" Taka had ever seen. No wonder the Na'vi considered this site sacred! The amount of power available at such a node in the lines of communication that ran around and within the forests of this world was sure to be mind-blowingly massive, and Taka knew he would no doubt hear much more than giggling echoes were he to ever link up to it. No, if there was any consciousness to the "Eywa" the Na'vi prayed to, this must be the seat of it, for sure.

* * *

After a good portion of her morning had been spent fussing over Norm's injuries (which were actually worse than he'd let on. Frankly she was impressed someone without any military-type training could ignore the pain as well as he had been) Trudy finally ventured outside after lunch. Norm was in link, because his avatar had to eat something too, and so she headed over to where his taller, bluer self was sitting, which just happened to be nearby to where their friend Tseo'ong the weaver was lying stretched out flat on his belly, trying to let his tail heal. Trudy had no idea what a tail injury was like, not, of course, having a tail herself, but she remembered that night she'd spent with Norm in his avatar in the forest house, and she remembered only too well how dexterous that tail had been (she hadn't been quite as drunk as she'd let on, although she would never tell Norm that, of course. He'd only been willing to strip for her in the avatar because he thought they were both pretty much toasted anyway) so she figured to suddenly not be able to move your tail, to not be able to balance with it and grab stuff with it, must be pretty scary, almost like losing the use of an arm, or at least a few fingers.

She walked over to them and settled comfortably into Big Blue Norm's lap. "_Oel ngatì kameie, ma Tseo'ong,_" she smiled.

"I see you also, ma Trrudi," he turned his head to look at her, "_it is kind of you to join us._"

"How's our brave rescuer doing today?" Trudy asked, leaning over to pat his shoulder. It was a bit of a stretch, but she managed it without having to get out of Norm's lap. She had switched back to English, knowing that if Teso'ong started to get lost, Norm would quickly step in and start translating for him, and would do the same for her with any Na'vi words she wasn't familiar with yet.

"_I am well enough,_" he said, "_but...bored._"

Trudy laughed. "Well, yeah, no doubt," she shook her head, "if I was confined to bed and had to lie on my stomach all day I'd be pretty damned bored too. That's why I figured I'd come over and hang out with you and Norm, see if I can't find some way to keep you entertained."

"_Irayo,_" he placed a hand on her knee. "_I have never had to lie so still for so long, and I find this bed of moss is not as comfortable as..._" He cut himself off, his _sanhì _flaring.

"Oh that's right, you spent the last couple of days lying on top of a very comfortable cushioning girl," Trudy raised an eyebrow, "I guess that would make this a bit less exciting, although probably more comfortable for her now that she doesn't have a weight resting on her all the time."

"_Oh!_" he said, "_I never thought of it like that! I do hope I wasn't too much weight pressing down on her, I wouldn't have wanted her to be hurt at all._"

"_I'm sure she would have said something if you were cutting off her air or she felt uncomfortable,_" Norm assured his friend, throwing a glare in Trudy's direction to encourage her to find a different topic of discussion. The last thing they wanted to do was make the patient upset, after all.

"Yeah, don't worry," Trudy said with a laugh and another pat on his shoulder, "she seems more the type to speak up rather than let something bother her and not say anything about it. A strong-willed girl, from what little I saw of her."

"_She is that,_" Tseo'ong agreed, his face softening with a smile as he obviously drifted into memory for a moment, "_quite like you, really. You are a strong warrior woman who knows what she wants of her life. I can almost see in my mind you in the form of a Na'vi huntress, a spear carried across your shoulders. You have grace of movement that would suit one of the People._"

"A spear, hmm?" Trudy blinked, "how come you chose a spear and not, say, a bow or a knife or something?"

"_I don't know,_" he shook his head, "_it just seemed more the choice that suited you._"

"Why does it surprise you?" Norm asked her, "it wouldn't seem to make that much difference, but does it have something to do with your past? With your dad and something he taught you?"

"With my _taat_, well, no and yes," Trudy said, "you know much about name meanings, Norm?"

"I...used to know a little," Norm admitted, "but mostly just what my sisters and mom would go on and on about, especially before my little brother was born, and that was when I was pretty young still, so..."

"Well..." Trudy hesitated, "first of all, you do know that "Trudy" is actually the short version of my real name, right?"

"I suspected," Norm said, "but..." he frowned carefully, not wanting to get into too much of a touchy subject, "it seems a bit of an odd choice given your father's background. I would have thought he'd have picked something traditionally Mayan, or at least Hispanic. Gertrude is more from the Norse-invaded areas, isn't it? Certainly it seems more British English to my mind than Mayan."

"Yeah, well..." Trudy sighed, "apparently he was going to use a Mayan name for a warrior woman and my _na'_ vetoed it, so he went looking for other names with a similar meaning, and "Trudy" was the one that stuck. Seriously, though...Gertrude..." she shuddered, "who does that to a little girl? I was just lucky they called me "Trudy" from the beginning and I only have to deal with the dreaded G-word on my formal legal documents and whatnot." She laughed, reflexively adjusting her ponytail. "Anyway, the reason I got into all that is because of what the G-word means. As far as I've ever seen, and from what my mom told me, it means "Spear maiden" so when he," she winked at Tseo'ong, "started talking about spears, well, you can see where I'd be surprised."

"_How is it that a name can mean something and yet sound not like its meaning?_" Tseo'ong asked, "_my own name means_ "unfolding art" _but its meaning is clear to all from the beginning. I must admit, I have not always liked my name, I find it a bit...female._"

Norm looked between the two of them and laughed. "Really," he said, "you two have nothing to complain about. You want horrific name choices, try mine. It's..." he rolled his eyes, "well all I can say is my parents were hippies living in a commune when I was born, but that really isn't any kind of excuse for what they did to me!"

"_What are _"hippies"_ ma Norm?_" Tseo'ong propped himself up on his elbows just a little to reduce the amount he had to crane his neck to look at them.

"_Well, I suppose the best explanation would be that they are those among the sky people who have chosen to try to live in balance with the land, with our 'Rrta,_'" Norm explained, then quickly added, "_not that this is a bad thing in any way; indeed it is a noble goal, it is only that sometimes the choices such people make when naming their children can be...odd. They tend to name their children for things in nature in a way which does not conceal the meaning at all, when for the sky people it is much more common to use older, less-used languages for names, so that their name is a hidden thing known only to those who have chosen the name, or to use names that have been used before in the family, by an ancestor. A grandmother, perhaps, or grandfather._"

While Norm had been trying to explain hippies, Trudy had taken advantage of his distraction to reach down his shirt and dig out his "dmt"s. She'd never bothered to really look at them before, but indeed, there was "Spellman, S. N." in the usual bold-faced type. "Hmm," she smirked at him, "so what's the "S" stand for, Normie? It can't be anything as normal as "Steve" or "Stan"...maybe...Sunbeam? Or what about Sparrowhawk?"

Norm just blinked at her, "No, no Sparrowhawk's my older brother Finn...Sparrowhawk Finn. We pretty much all took on our middle names once we were old enough to realize how weird our first names were."

"Holy shit! I just totally pulled that out of my ass," Trudy laughed, "so your older brother's Sparrowhawk...and you mentioned sisters and a younger brother too...how many kids did your parents have, anyway?"

"Six," Norm said, "with me in the middle." He shrugged at her somewhat stunned expression. "Yeah, I know, hippies should have more respect for the earth and not overpopulate, but my mom was one of the only women in the commune who could actually carry to term, so other women gifted her their birthing rights, and we were all raised pretty, well...communally, for lack of a better term. There was our little clan and a couple kids each from a couple of the other women, but mom is...well, I guess was, now, very much "blessed by the Goddess" as they liked to put it."

Trudy just shook her head. "All this stuff I never knew," she said, "we clearly should've escaped from Hell's Gate and come to live with the Omatikaya weeks ago, you're opening up so much!" Even with his happy-go-lucky demeanour (once she'd pulled him out of that funk about Jake being the one taken in by the clan first) Norm had never talked much about his background, and Trudy had let it pass because, of course, she had her own secrets to keep, so she wasn't about to go prying into someone else's no matter how close they were beginning to become. "And what do you mean "was", did your mom pass on?"

"Pass...oh, no. No," he shook his head, "I didn't mean that way, only that she's well into her forties now and beyond the point of having any more little terrors, I would think."

"Ah, right," Trudy nodded, "well I gotta say I'm a little jealous. I always wanted a brother when I was little, but _Na'_ and _Taat_ never obliged." She caught herself, "but you've quite successfully derailed the topic, the question was, what does the "S" on your tags stand for, Mr. not-Sunbeam-not-Sparrowhawk?"

"Actually, weirdly enough, I was named for Pandora, in a way," Norm explained. "As the story goes, Meadowlark - that's my mom, but we weren't supposed to call our parents "mom" and "dad", we were raised to refer to them by their names - was way far along with me when the news announcements about the discovery of Pandora flashed across the globe, and even though it took a few days to get back into the Oregon boonies where we lived then, the commune council realized quickly that the discovery of a life-bearing planetoid was going to be very important to the history and future of humanity, so they called a meeting of the whole community to discuss what their stance on it was going to be and if they needed to organize any kind of protests or affirmative actions to try to make sure people didn't waste this new "blessing of the universe" the way we've screwed up so badly on Earth."

"Oookay," Trudy nodded, thinking to herself that really, her dad probably would've quite enjoyed meeting Norm's parents, and wondering why that made her feel so right inside. I mean, seriously, it wasn't like she needed her parents' approval to choose a guy to sleep with, she was a grown woman, after all; almost thirty, even!

"Yeah," Norm shrugged, "although what they thought a tiny community of thirty-to-fifty-odd people could do on a planetary scale I've never quite been sure, but I guess it's the thought and intentions that count. In any case, the whole community was called to the meeting, and since Finn was only three and a half, and Luna - that's "Moonbeam Scotia" if you want the name on her birth certificate - had just turned two and there was nobody else to look after them, so down she waddled, kids in tow, all the way to the community hall in the center of the commune." He had begun telling the story in a strange pidgin of Na'vi and English without even realizing it, and neither Trudy nor Tseo'ong corrected him. They were both managing to understand well enough, and the combined language was...interesting.

"Anyway..." Trudy prompted, playing with his tags as she waited a little impatiently for him to get to the point of the story.

"Anyway, with all the excitement of the news and all the heated discussion about what the commune should do or not do in wake of the discovery of a possibly-inhabited moon around a distant planet, my mother got a bit too worked up and, well, I made a surprise arrival on the community hall floor. Luckily she knew what she was doing by then as far as having babies, and the commune midwife was there, so it really wasn't a problem, but because of my particularly timely arrival, I got stuck with..." Norm shuddered, then looked down to meet Trudy's eyes. "Okay I won't tell you not to laugh, because it really is _horrendous_, but you have to at least promise you won't use it against me."

"I promise," she said, pulling his head down so she could kiss his funny-shaped avatar nose.

"_I promise also, my friend,_" Tseo'ong spoke up for the first time since he'd started telling the story, "_I know what it is to have a name you do not always enjoy._"

"Thanks," Norm smiled a little sheepishly at both of them. "Okay, my full name, on my birth certificate and for legal purposes and all that, is "Starbright Norman Spellman", and yes, I know it's ridiculous."

"That's...oh, wow," Trudy almost choked as she tried not to burst into gales of laughter, "Wow. I mean, really wow. Starbright. As in "Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight"?"

"Yeah," he muttered, looking away, his _sanhì_ flaring visibly enough to be eye-catching, even though it was the middle of the day.

"_I See your embarrassment, my friend,_" Tseo'ong said, a hint of a smile showing on his face as well, "_that __**is**__ a remarkably feminine name for a male._"

"Yes, well, apparently that didn't occur to my parents," Norm sighed.

"Poor, poor Normie," Trudy patted his shoulder, "so you're Starbright Norman, your older brother's Sparrowhawk Finn and your sister's Moonbeam Scotia, what about the other three? You've got me curious now."

"Well, none of them are as bad as mine," Norm said, glad for the slight change of subject as he tried to regain his composure. "Three years after me are the twins, Melody Erin and Harmony Brittany - Erin and Britt - and another three years after them is Peregrine Francis."

"Don't tell me, let me guess: Your little brother goes by "Pippin"?" Trudy giggled.

That made Norm laugh out loud. "Ohhhhh man! I never would've taken you for a Tolkien fan! The things we're learning today! But no, we've all called him that from time to time, but he hates that name with a passion! No, he actually prefers to go by "Frank", of all things. I guess it's as "normal" as any part of his name might manage to get. At least I lucked out there, my middle name ends up sounding about as "normal" as you can get. Frankly, I'm lucky my parents didn't pick "Anglicus" or something equally as ridiculous for the part of my mother's roots I was supposed to be representing."

As occupied as the three of them were in talking about Norm's background, none of them noticed Prrala until the young healer gripped Tseo'ong's ear firmly and twisted it just enough to get his attention.

"_You are not to be raising your body yet without supervision!_" she said sternly, not letting the pressure off until he had moved off his elbows and laid back down flat on the moss again the way he had been when Trudy sat down.

"_I moved nothing below my ribs,_" he protested, "_and my neck was becoming sore from looking up at my visitors._"

"_Do not put the blame on them, you should have simply listened instead of looking,_" Prrala shook her head in disapproval, "_If you cannot lie still when you have visitors I may have to forbid them from coming to see you for more than a short span of time so you are not tempted to do such things._"

"_But to speak to people and not look them in the eye is rude, ma Prrala,_" he pointed out, raising a little, so he could look _her_ in the eye.

Prrala muttered something under her breath that Trudy was almost positive was a bad word and tweaked his ear again. "_Lie. Down._" she said firmly

With a distinctly put-out expression on his face, Tseo'ong subsided, laying his hands flat on the ground and resting his head on them, turning away from Prrala to face his guests instead.

"_Are healers among the sawtute so cruel to their patients?_" he asked Norm, "_and so rude! She did not even greet my guests!_"

"_I would not say rude, but our healers can also be quite stern, yes,_" Norm nodded, "_Not that you were being rude, so please don't think it,_" he added as he looked over at the young healer.

Prrala flushed, realizing that perhaps she _was_ being a bit rude, and gestured in greeting to Norm and Trudy. "_Oel mengatì kameie,_" she said to the two of them, and then turned her gaze directly to Trudy and switched to somewhat halting English. "Are also _tawtute_ males so..." she gestured toward her patient, who was trying to look innocent, "so... Ah I know the word not."

"Stubborn?" Trudy supplied, grinning, "Frustrating? Actually yes, yes they are," She gave Norm a significant look, "I suspect it has everything to do with being male. Sometimes I think they were created just to aggravate us, but..." she grinned, "they do have their...uses."

"Uses? Oh, you mean for reminding us we are female?" Prrala laughed, "by acting children and making us like mothers feel?"

"I guess there's that too," Trudy nodded, "but I was thinking more along the lines of giving us something to do when we get bored and can't sleep in the middle of the night." She glanced up at Norm and winked, "this one can talk on and on enough to put anyone to sleep."

"Hey!" Norm objected, "I seem to remember you being quite interested in what I...had to say."

"Of course I was," she stood up from his lap and kissed his cheek before tugging him to his feet, "now we should probably let the doctor here take care of Tseo, and while you're in that nice big body I've got a few jobs for you fixing up a couple loose nuts on my Baby."

She knew enough about guys to know Tseo'ong probably didn't want them sitting and watching while the doctor-girl he apparently liked was slathering cream all over his bruises and redoing his bandages, she'd sat with enough buddies in the field hospitals after evacs, after all, and she knew the look he was presently wearing; that mixture of fear, anticipation and embarrassment. No guy, warrior, weaver or whatever, liked to have people he cared about see him weak.

* * *

Nala was bored. She was bored, tense, and she missed her talks with the little Tree of Voices Taka had left her in charge of. She wondered if it was always like this before a battle; the intensity that had nowhere to go, the stress that didn't really abate. It didn't help that of course since the science operations had been shut down "until further notice" she didn't even have work to lose herself in. The only quasi-scientific wing of Hell's Gate that was even left open now was the medical wing, and the doctors and med techs were far too protective of their equipment, and there was no way they would ever let her get away with playing around on their equipment just because she was bored. Everything else was locked down, and the last thing Nala wanted to do was alert someone to the fact that the AVTR program folks were planning something by being a "bad girl" and trying to break into the lab before the right time came.

She just wished that "right time" would come a little sooner. For her own sanity, if nothing else.

"Hey," she heard someone say behind her, and she spun around only to realize it was just Xander, the marine biologist.

"Hey," she smiled at him, "how're you holding up?"

"Bored," he shrugged, "I thought maybe I'd head to the gym. Work off some of this excess energy. I'm...not used to being in this body for so long anymore."

"You and me both," Nala shook her head, "the gym sounds like a great idea. You mind some company?"

"Eh, if I minded, would I have gotten your attention?" he raised an eyebrow at her, "I figured you must be just about as edgy as I am. I hate not having anything to do. I wasn't even really supposed to be back here, I should be back out at Site 3 on the coast by now, but I guess it's good I'm here seeing as how it means we've got one more person to do something when...the time comes."

"Yeah," she nodded, "plus you got a chance to meet the tree, well, before everything went all to pot."

"Yeah," he nodded, "that was pretty amazing. Makes me wonder about some of the cetaceaites I've been studying and whether there's some sort of underwater equivalent to those trees of voices. Not that I'm likely to get a chance to see it, I mean, they still haven't made any kind of effort to produce those avatar-specific underwater rebreather units, after all."

"Yeah, well, we all know how much of priority our projects aren't," Nala frowned, "I hate not being able to get out there though, I mean, all my ongoing studies are losing out from this. I swear if it weren't for what's...likely to happen soon, I'd be out there right now, avatar or not. I've got enough practice in that body that I should be able to sneak around in this one to do my population counts."

"Well, you might be able to manage the sneaking around, but I doubt you'd be able to outrun a pack of viperwolves, or hear them coming, even," he pointed out, "and then although you'd get what would, I'm sure, be a fascinating firsthand example of hunting behaviour, you wouldn't be having quite as much fun anymore."

Nala didn't even glorify that little bit of descriptive prose with a response, just rolled her eyes at him. "C'mon," she said, "we're almost at the gym, time to sweat out our frustrations so we can actually get some sleep tonight."

* * *

Some time not long after the noon meal, Mo'at found herself once more at _Vitrautral_, looking for the guidance of Eywa. She almost felt as though she ought, perhaps, not to be relying so much on the Great Mother's help, but after all, the circumstances of the last few days were anything but usual, and she needed every hint she could get to lead the People in the right direction.

"_Ma Nawma Sa'nok, I seek your wisdom,_" she said humbly, "_There is now among us one of the sawtute, and although the ayuniltìranyu trust her, I am not sure that I should. Although she helped to return some of those who were injured in the fall of our home, I know that not all among the People will accept that as enough to forgive what her people - and presumably she as well - have done to us. I have not before attempted to read the blood of a tawtute, and I would not wish to be mistaken in my reading._"

"_That's a pretty good point, really._"

Mo'at's eyes went wide and she almost fell over in surprise. The voice she'd just heard was...not at all the one she'd expected. "_Ma Grace?_" she asked carefully.

"_Yup, you got me,_" Grace said, amusement clear in her voice, "_I know I'm not quite who you were expecting, but I promise, I am actually the one you want to talk to on this topic. I knew Trudy well, after all._"

"_I suppose you would know of her,_" Mo'at agreed, "_she was often the one who carried you in her kunsìp, was she not?_"

"_She was, yes,_" Grace said, "_but more than just that, I know things about her personal history which are important for you and the rest of the People to know, not only for her good, but so that you can better understand the sky people. As it turns out, I actually knew her father, although I only learned of the connection recently. You would have liked him, Mo'at. He was a great leader of his people, leading them back into harmony with nature and making a strong stand against those who would exploit the last of his people's traditional lands for their own uses._"

"_I did not know that the sawtute had such strong leaders,_" Mo'at couldn't quite hide the surprise in her voice.

"_The history of our people is filled with strong leaders, and not all have been good,_" the sadness in Grace's voice was clear, "_but as to Trudy's father, you should ask her directly. I think you will be surprised by what you learn._"

"_It seems as though I likely will be,_" Mo'at agreed, "_rest well, Grace, and do not fear, I continue to watch over your children for you._"

"_Thanks,_" Grace's voice was swiftly fading away, "_I...appreciate that._"

Getting to her feet again slowly, Mo'at let her _tswin_ drop back down against her chest and headed in the direction of the _uniltìranyu_ camp, where she was most likely to find the _kunsìp makto_. It seemed she had a story to hear.

* * *

**And we're officially back on track! And before anyone asks, no, Starbright is not canon. Obviously ^_~ . I'm just having a little fun at poor old Normy's expense. I thought he deserved a bit of a crazy family, and somehow this was the bunch that seemed to fit him best.**

**Anyway, enough of my nattering, on with the...**

**Vocab:**

**Na'vi:**  
_**tawtute / sawtute **_**- Sky person/people, human(s)**  
_**ikran **_**- banshee**  
_**Toruk Makto**_** - legendary figure who grings the clans together in a time of "great sorrow"**  
_**uniltìranyu / ayuniltìranyu**_** - dreamwalker(s) / avatar(s)**  
_**Kelutral **_**- Hometree**  
_**tawsìp **_**- skyship**  
_**pa'li / fa'li**_** - direhorse(s)**  
**_palulukan _/ falulukan ****- thanator(s)**  
_**nantang **_**- viperwolf**  
_**tswin**_** - queue**  
_**ayVitraya Ramunong**_** - the Well of Souls, the basin in which the Tree of Souls is located**  
_**tsaheylu **_**- "The bond"**  
_**Vitrautral**_** - the Tree of Souls**  
_**Oel ngatì kameie / Oel mengatì kameie**_** - I See you, in the case of "_mengatì_" this means "the two of you"**  
_**Irayo**_** - thank you**  
_**'Rrta**_** - Earth - our beloved planet that we take far too much for granted sometimes**  
_**sanhì **_**- bioluminescent freckles (or stars)**  
_**Nawma Sa'nok**_** - "Great Mother", a formal way to address Eywa**  
_**kunsìp **_**- gunship**  
_**makto**_** - rider, but in this case, driver.**

**Japanese:**  
_**chibi-tachi**_** - little ones**  
_**-chan**_** - little, affectionate when used after a name****  
_kata_**** - ****martial arts practice routine, usually performed solo**

**Yucatec Maya:**

**_Taat_ - dad  
_Na'_ - mom**


	37. Chapter 36: Setting the Stage

**Plugging right along, this is the last of the "pre-battle" chapters, really. Sure, the next chapter doesn't start the battle itself at the beginning of the chapter, but things are taking to the air by the end, and the battle itself will run through to chapter 40. I tell you all this to give you fair warning of how many chapters of insane, edge-of-your-seat cliffhanger type stuff you're going to have to put up with. Not that we don't already pretty much know how the battle will go but there WILL be some changes to certain events, so keep your eyes open.**

**In the meantime, enjoy! Oh, and there's a tiny shout-out to an amazing fellow hidden within these words, he'll know it when he sees it ^_~  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 36: Setting the Stage

In the _ikran_ roosts around the bowl of the valley of the Tree, the two _ikran_, the blue/green mottled male and the green-blue female the colour of precious stones, sat close together, preening, sunning themselves, and just generally relaxing. Or so it would have seemed to an outsider watching them. Anyone familiar with _ikran_ habits and moods, however, would have quickly corrected the watcher. They weren't relaxed, they were...

_"Bored,"_ the male complained. _"Leftbehind so boring. Sunning boring, preening boring. Veryveryveryverybored."_

_"Yourpartner fault,"_ the female kreeled at him, _"yourpartner fault mypartner notfly with me, youfix."_

It was the second lightanddark cycle since their partners had flown off on the back of the bigredone, and neither one of them was in anything resembling a good mood. _Ikran_ were meant to fly, not to sit around doing nothing for long stretches of time. Suddenly the male raised his head.

_"Wewillfly,"_ he said, _"we __**race**__, youandme!"_ And without any further warning than that he took to the sky.

The female screeched her objection to the lack of warning, but she was very quickly aloft as well and winging after him as fast as she could. Just because their partners weren't there, it didn't mean they couldn't fly, after all!

* * *

After her "talk" with Grace, Mo'at had gone in search of Trrudi, and it hadn't taken her all that long to find the _tawtute_ woman. She had been reluctant at first to talk about her history, but Mo'at had promised to listen without judging until she was finished, and that seemed to reassure her. Norrmspellman, the sometimes awkwardly formal _uniltìranyu_ who was her _yawnetu_ had offered to help with translation of confusing words, but, surprisingly, Trrudi had shaken her head, sending him away. She wanted to stand on her own two feet, she said, and if anything got really confusing they could always call him back. He had seemed a little hurt at first, but then had knelt down to look her in the eyes and seemed to have seen something that reassured him, because he smiled, stroked her shoulder, and stood again to walk off in the other direction, picking up a book Mo'at had often seen him using to make images and sitting down once he was out of earshot.

That had been some length of time past, and now here Mo'at sat, nodding thoughtfully to herself as she listened to the _kunsìp makto_ - the _pilot_, to give her the proper title of her kind - explain about the people of her birth and the differences and history between many of the clans of _sawtute_ back on their home. It was truly remarkable. Always when they learned a little more about these strange people from the skies, many more questions were conceived than were answered. It was reassuring to know, though, that they were not incapable of loving their home - their mother - just that so many had been raised away from her that they had forgotten how.

"So, anyway," Trrudi was saying, "when I came here, and even after I'd arrived, I'd had to hide the truth of who and what I was for so long that I had almost forgotten most of the lessons of my father. So much so that even after I'd started to remember the truth of what my father had wished for me I almost did something...unforgivable..."

Mo'at watched the _tawtute_ woman's gaze fall to her hands, examining them almost as though she wasn't quite sure they were a part of herself. She clenched them into fists and looked up again.

"In the end, though, I came to my senses and pretended there was a problem with my baby - er, that's what I call my _kunsìp_," she explained quickly, "and returned to Hell's Gate without firing. When I found out they'd locked up Norm and the others it was just the final straw. I mean, it was the last thing that made me change my mind for good," she clarified, "I had to get them out of there. And so here I am, a deserter and damn proud of it."

Mo'at smiled at her, and couldn't quite resist the urge to pat the woman's head as though she were the child of the People she resembled. "It is good you have come to See yourself again," she said, "your story gives me much to think on, but I do not believe you are a threat to any of the People. You may wish, though, to speak with a few of the _tsampongu_ leaders when they return. It is best if fellow warriors trust and understand each other, after all, and although all will do as Jhake - as _Toruk Makto_ - tells them, it is difficult to trust simply because you are told you must. Trust can be gained much easier through understanding the other." She shook her head, "which also makes me remember there is another who must be shown to the People as worthy of trust, or rather, three young ones. I had better show they are safe before any of the People find them and misunderstand."

"Right, the thanator - um, _palulukan_ cubs. The kids told me about them on the ride in here," Trrudi nodded, "you go ahead, I'll be fine here. I guess I have a lot to think about, coming up with how best to tell my story to the warriors."

"You will, I'm sure, have the support of your new clan, the _ayuniltìranyu_," Mo'at encouraged her.

Trrudi smiled and nodded. "I'm sure," she agreed, looking over to where her _yawnetu_ was still sitting making pictures. Mo'at decided that she was well enough in her mind to be left on her own (delving into sad memories could, after all, be difficult on a person, whether they were of the Omatikaya, the...Maya, as Trrudi had named herself, or even the _sawtute_, and Mo'at would not want to abandon one who needed her council. That was her duty as _Tsahìk_, after all.

She gently brushed the top of Norrm's shoulder as she passed by to catch his attention, then gestured back over to Trrudi with her chin, not saying a word, but letting her actions speak for her. The oddly formal _uniltìranyu_ showed his intelligence as he nodded silently to her in return, tucked his book under his arm and strode of casually back in the direction of his _yawnetu_. She would be just fine in his care, Mo'at knew.

As for her own destination, Mo'at headed for the strange metal building where the _uniltìranyu_ hid their small bodies. That was, after all, where she knew Taka and his children had gone to keep themselves away from the hustle and bustle of the Omatikaya and the Na'vi of other clans who had begun to arrive.

When she got to the clearing where the metal building was, Mo'at was amused to find that the three children were lying in a pile just below the stairs, and neither Taka nor Louise was anywhere in sight. Although the _pxefalulukan_ seemed to be sleeping, it didn't take long for one set of quills to be raised, followed by a drowsy-looking head. She couldn't be sure which of the children it was who had noticed her, but that one quickly nudged the other two, and they untangled themselves from their sleeping puddle of dark bodies and stretched languidly before trotting over to her and kneeling. It had been some weeks since she had last seen them, and they had grown quite a bit in that time, but they were clearly still the adorable little cubs they had been, at least in their attitudes.

«_It is good to see Grandmother again. Sano hopes Grandmother happy,_» the male cub purred as she linked to him, «_Daddy is busy, and Mommy is busy, and Uncle Carlos is sleeping his empty sleep, does Grandmother want to play?_»

"_I cannot play right now,_" Mo'at shook her head gently, "_but I was hoping to introduce you to the rest of the clan, so that they will not fear you._"

«_You can make others not make fearsmell to us?_» he asked, «_That is good, fearsmell is not that good a thing. Makes everyone feel notgood until it is fixed._»

"_Truly,_" Mo'at agreed. "_Come, I will show you to the clan now, and show them that they do not need to fear._"

«_Okay,_» Sano leaned affectionately against her, «_Mommy and Daddy will not miss us if we are back before darktime. Daddy said it would be darktime before they came back from their privacytime._»

Mo'at had to smile at that. "_Then we should go now and be back before they worry._"

Keeping her link with Sano, and with the two girls flanking them, Mo'at quickly walked down into the bowl of _ayVitraya Ramunong_, taking up a position on the raised dais below the tree. She didn't even have to raise her voice to get the People's attention. Just the simple action of standing there flanked by three _palulukan_ cubs was more than enough to have every eye turning her way, and not a few cries of shock and fear.

"_You do not need to fear for me,_" she reassured them quickly, "_These pxefalulukan are the adopted children of Taka and Luuisì. As you can see they pose no threat. They are still young, but they have already helped save seven of our people who were trapped beneath our fallen Kelutral. They are treasured friends of the Omatikaya, and I hope you will all realize there is no need to fear them._"

The fear sounds were already beginning to fade, changing to intrigued murmurings, and Mo'at was pleased. She knew at least a few of the People had met these children already, and that was probably helping as well.

«_I see/smell Kenet-cousinbrother! We can go play?_» Sano asked, wriggling with excitement.

"_I will take you to him,_" Mo'at nodded. She led them down from the raised area and let Sano lead her toward the child they apparently knew. They led her right to a young boy, the son of one of the midwives, she remembered. "_Do not play too late,_" she reminded them, "_you do not want to worry your father._"

* * *

It was evening by the time Jake and Neytiri arrived at their last stop before returning to _Vitrautral_, and the light was quickly fading from the sky. He brought his _toruk_ in for a landing through an opening in the trees where a river carved its way next to the hometree, and felt Neytiri's arms tighten around his waist just before they touched the ground. Goddamn she smelled amazing, and he wanted nothing more than to be able to just spend the rest of the night wrapped around her, taking every second to make her feel incredible, but he knew he had to push it down - the urge, that was - and concentrate on just doing what he had to do. When this was all finished, though...

"This timing really sucks," he muttered under his breath. Before he could do what he truly wanted to, he hopped down from the back of his mount and strode quickly into the treed area away from the riverbank, walking with purpose toward the home of this clan. Neytiri had told him the name of the clan but right now his brain was too fogged with hormones to remember what it was, although he did remember it had seemed familiar.

"What is it that troubles you?" she ran her hand over his shoulder as she moved up beside him.

He could feel the muscles under his skin shiver at her touch. "Nothing," he shook his head, "I just wish we had more time." He turned and smiled at her, "You smell incredible," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and burying his nose in her hair.

She let out one of those low purring moans that made his knees go weak, and he almost would have just said "friggit" and put off going in to talk to the clan for a few minutes (hours) but just then he heard someone nearby clear their throat to get his attention.

"_I am surprised at you Tom,_" he heard a man's voice and the level of anger in it had even him paying attention, "_I had thought her heart was safe with you, and yet here you are with another woman. I should drive a knife into your heart for her myself._"

It took Jake a moment to collect his slightly scattered attention enough to realize how the young man he was now looking at had addressed him. "Not Tom," he grinned, "you got the wrong dreamwalker."

Neytiri elbowed him in the side and he realized he should have tried to say that in Na'vi, rather than English. He really was distracted!

"_I am sorry for the misunderstanding, ma tsmukan,_" Neytiri said politely, "_but my mate is not Tomsuuly. Rather, this is his twin brother, Jhakesuuly. Tom is still among the Omatikaya, having only just been rescued from being trapped beneath our fallen Kelutral with his new mate, Ninat._"

"_His..._" The confusion on the other man's face was clear, and Jake couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for him. Obviously there was some sort of history between him, Tom and Ninat, and he couldn't seem to decide whether the news that in fact Tom hadn't "changed his mind" and decided not to make Ninat his mate was good news (since then he had not hurt Ninat) or bad news (since now Ninat was forever off the available shelf). "_I had heard of the fall of your Kelutral,_" he said finally, seeming to come back to himself and schooling his features into a proper sort of sympathetic look, "_and there have been__ rumours__ also of a new Toruk Makto who rides the skies, drawing the clans together to drive away the sky people who have done such a horrible thing. Oh,_" he managed a wry smile, "_I am Zolan, future High Singer of the Anurai people. I should welcome you to our home._"

"_It is good to see you again, Zolan,_" Neytiri nodded, "_I remember you from the time you visited our people a few seasons ago. I hope you have been well._"

"_I have been,_" Zolan nodded, "_but, tell me, what is it that brings you to us? Is it perhaps that the__ rumours__ are true, are the Omatikaya rallying the clans?_"

Jake smiled over at Neytiri, who smiled back at him. "_If you come to where we landed, you see,_" he said, making the effort to remember that the people here didn't speak any English at all.

"You are such a child" Neytiri sighed, and he could see she was resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "_It is true we are rallying the clans,_" she said, "_we have come to speak of the new Toruk Makto..._" she was interrupted by the very animal making a loud kreel behind her, and Jake watched with an admitted flash of pride as Zolan's eyes went wide.

"_You are..._"

"_I am,_" Jake nodded, dropping the humour of a moment ago.

"_I will bring you to the Olo'eyktan and Tsahìk,_" Zolan said. He was visibly unsettled, and kept glancing back over his shoulder at the area where he had heard the _toruk_, but he pulled himself together admirably and led them into the inner circle of the Anurai Hometree.

* * *

Quaritch frowned as he tucked back a mug of almost glutinous coffee and stared at the orbital images on his computer screen. The numbers around the "Tree of Souls" area at the center of the flux vortex didn't seem to have changed substantially, but... He panned out, widening the view and then searched back over the past day, grabbing wideview orbital images every half hour or so. He swore. The evidence was unmistakable. The natives were massing; huge numbers heading in toward the central location, and they were moving fast. He was going to have to do something about this - something big - or he'd be overwhelmed in a week. He might have the technological advantage by like a million years or so, but technology was worth dick-all when you were outnumbered a hundred to one. He might be able to improve the odds a bit if he conscripted the miners, but even then, he was going to have to make some kind of massive preemptive strike if he didn't want to lose more assets than he was willing to part with.

"Damn Sully," he growled to himself as he opened a new window and started checking resources. This really was "kill or be killed", and he was going to use whatever he could get his hands on in order to keep his people safe and keep things running the way they were supposed to. He smiled as he read some of the figures on explosive compounds available on-base, then pressed the intercom button.

"Get me Kater," he snapped, "and tell him to be quick about it."

* * *

Jakob Kater, head of mine ops for the Hells Gate unobtanium mine, tried not to frown as he rubbed at the headache situated just behind and between his ears. "Stupid _moffie_," he muttered, "What I care what he wants to do with th'explosives. Won't be my problem soon'nuf."

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. After all, getting worked up about shit like this only made him hurt more. Goddamned planet. He'd survived almost twenty years in the mines of his native South Africa, from superdeep gold mines always at risk of collapse to open-pit diamond mines, and he'd never gotten so much as a sniffle or a week off for silicon exposure - the RDA had insisted on rigorous health screening before putting him into cryo and they hadn't found anything to cause any problems, but after only ten years here he was dying, his body riddled with cancer.

Oh, he'd heard the rumours that lots of the men who returned from Pandora didn't live all that long after they made it back to Earth, but then, miners never expected to live long lives; he'd always figured they'd already burned up most of their lives in other mines before they got recruited, and spending ten years going across the galaxy and back, plus all the time spent working in yet another hellhole of a mine, had probably just made that problem worse. Within the first few years here, though, he'd started to see the truth. This mine wasn't like any other mine he'd ever worked in, and it wasn't because of the difference in atmospheric density or the difference in gravity - both of those pretty near cancelled each other out, in any case. The difference was that there was something in the soil here - perhaps it was the unobtanium itself, perhaps some other toxic compounds - that killed the men who worked with it. No matter what kind of protection they wore (and many didn't wear enough. It was goddamned hot and humid sometimes, even for someone raised in Africa) somehow the toxins got through. Less than half of the miners who arrived in each ship from Earth would ever return there, and that had little to do with the fact that some chose to stay for an extra rotation.

Jakob rubbed a weary hand over his eyes as he closed the door to his tiny room behind him. He was one of those men who had been greedy and chosen to work one more rotation before returning to Earth, after all, it wasn't as though he had a family to return to, so what did it matter an extra six years? Well, he knew what it mattered now. He had two more years on this rotation, and even with the care of the doctors he knew he'd never see the shuttle meant to bring him home. They'd given him six months to a year, and that had been five months ago. The tumors had grown to the point that even if he had wanted to break his contract and return early, he never would have survived being put into cryo. He'd come to accept that, though. He knew he was dying, and the only thing he really still cared about now was making sure his workers were taken care of, and that they didn't make his mistake. He wanted as many of them to live as possible; live, and make it back to Earth well enough to enjoy the fruits of their labours.

With a deep sigh he settled himself onto his bed, lying back in the closest thing to a comfortable position that his body could still manage, and closed his eyes, breathing slowing in through his nose until his breath filled his chest and then letting it out again. The meditation one of the doctors had taught him was better even than the pills for helping to manage his pain, and it had the lovely side effect that it brought a sense of peace with it as well. He wondered to himself, just before abandoning conscious thought, what might happen to his immortal soul when he died here, so far away from the land he was born. He vaguely pondered whether the Goddess of the Na'vi would be willing to trouble herself with giving peace to one who had scarred her flesh, or whether, instead, she was already punishing him for his transgressions.

He didn't know quite how to take it when, deep in the emptiness of his meditative trance, he heard a voice.

"_Mawey, ma 'itan,_" it said, "all will be balanced again soon."

* * *

That night was another spent away from the clan for Neytiri and Jake. They had been offered a place to sleep by 'Anansi, the Anurai tsahìk, not only because of Jake's newly-exalted position, but also due to their fond remembrance of Tom's visit not that long before. They had finished their dinner, and been shown where their _nivi_ was, and now they were sitting in a quiet alcove they'd found, just reveling in each other's company. It had been an interesting visit. Neytiri had lost track of the number of times she'd had to correct people that this was her Jhake, not his brother who had visited them before. At least they had been gracious about being constantly corrected, some of the potters even jokingly asking if his brother had sent along images of _'Rrta _pottery he had promised them. Jhake, of course, made jokes about the situation, and made faces and was his generally jovial self, but Neytiri could tell the press of people was wearing on him, that he needed some quiet time alone, and so she had found this small space for them to...not _hide_ precisely, but to rest together before they went to sleep and Jhake's spirit deserted her once more.

Now she was leaning back against the inner wall of the space, her back supported by wood rubbed smooth by the countless Anurai who had rested here before her, and Jhake was lying stretched out with his head on her lap, gazing up at her as she played with his hair. She tugged at the small, unruly braids and frowned. He still dressed his hair as a child, and yes, of course, she had not had time before to do anything about it, but she had time now, and he really ought to look more the fierce warrior he was.

"_Ma Jhake,_" she said, her fingers tracing along the edge of one sensitive ear, "I think I should fix your hair for you to be the hair of _tsamsiyu,_ of a warrior. I will braid it newly for you, but do you have any wish how it should look?"

"Hmm..." Jhake mumbled thoughtfully, "yeah, you know, a new look might be just the thing," he agreed, "Maybe something with the sides shaved. On Earth we would've called that a "Mohawk". For the old Native tribe who used to do their hair just like that. Well, that's how I heard it anyway. They were pretty awesome, really. No fear. I mean, _literally_ they couldn't feel fear at all! Or anyway that's what I remember being told when I was a kid. They were kick-ass fierce, I wouldn't mind looking like that," he smiled up at her. "At least while there's a war to fight."

She smiled back down at him, closing her eyes briefly to try to imagine him with his hair in the narrow fashion, and she thought perhaps it might suit him well. "That is how I will fix it for you then," she said, "but I will need a sharp blade and oils, and I will have to go fetch those, so you will lose the resting place of your head for a little while."

"I'll survive somehow," he grinned, rolling off her lap and sitting up, "don't be gone too long though, I...need you close."

"I will be quick," she nodded, resisting the urge to lean over and kiss him as she stood, running her fingers along the strong planes of his chest instead. If she let herself bow to temptation and kiss him she would never leave the alcove, and his hair wouldn't get fixed that night, for sure! As it was they had already found quiet moments almost every chance they got. Jhake was...insatiable. Not that she minded. She rather liked the constant attention, actually. She knew she was wearing a little secret smile as she headed in the direction of the central fires, thinking there she might find someone willing to help her find what she needed.

And indeed it didn't take her long to find someone who could help her. She had barely made it into the range of the light of the fires when a young woman approached her.

"_Is there something you were seeking, tsmuke?_" the woman asked. Neytiri wracked her brain for a name - she was sure this was one whom she had met in the constant corrections earlier.

"_My mate is in need of attention to his hair,_" she said with a smile, "_and thus I am in need of a comb, a sharp blade and shaving oils. Do you know where I might find them?_"

"_Of course,_" The young woman - Marrya? Meniya? - took her hand and headed across to the far side of the fires, "_Our weavers keep their hair-tending supplies here, they will not mind if we use them now, since most do not wish their hair fussed with after dinner._"

"_Yes, well, it has been a busy two days,_" Neytiri shook her head, "_we must take time when it comes to us._"

"_I have no doubt of that,_" Me'lina, that was the girl's name, patted her arm, "_I was not__ criticising__. It may be good, also, to ensure he and Tom look a little more different. It will reduce confusion when the two are together._"

"_It will do that,_" Neytiri laughed.

The two women were chatting quite amiably by the time they arrived back at the alcove where Jhake was waiting, Neytiri having decided a little help in this project would not go amiss. Especially since the presence of the other woman would help keep her mind on what she ought to be doing, rather than getting distracted by the delicious prospect he presented halfway through and leaving him with hair only half-fixed. That wouldn't do at all!

They set down the beads (and some brightly-coloured bits of 'angtsìk crest Me'lina had assured her the clan's wavers would be only too glad to gift to so worthy a recipient as the new _Toruk Makto_) as well as the blade and the oil, armed themselves with a comb each, and got Jhake to move out and sit where they both had room to work on him. When they were done, he would look like a true warrior of the People. He would become a living banner that all would follow into a battle that would (she prayed) change the fate of the People forever.

* * *

The next morning, after spending another night curled up with Norm in her hammock (and why she hadn't thought of doing that sooner she had no idea. SO much better than sleeping alone in a tiny narrow bunk. Seriously.) Trudy checked on his bandages, fixed a few of them, and then headed out to see what was up. It wasn't long before Big Blue Norm caught up with her, and not long after that there was a big commotion as literally hundreds of _ikran_ riders started to fly in. It was the Omatikaya warriors returning from their task of gathering the clans, but more than just the Omatikaya. Clearly Jake's message had managed to reach plenty of folks, because the skies were literally dark with banshees. Dark with banshees, and one much bigger birdie... Trudy raised an eyebrow as everyone moved out of the way at the first sound of the terrifying _toruk_.

"We should probably go welcome Jake home," Trudy tugged on Norm's hand, "c'mon."

"Are you sure you don't want to wait?" Norm hesitated, "I mean, he's sure to be mobbed with people, and not all of them know not to trip over you."

"Hmm, good point," Trudy frowned, "although I don't like the implication that I'm short." A sly smile spread across her face as she looked up at him, "In fact, I think it's very un-chivalrous of you to mention it, so you know what that means?"

Norm's ears drooped and his tail twitched nervously, both of which tells she quite enjoyed seeing. "What does it mean?" he asked, "and can I say sorry now for phrasing that wrong and avoid my punishment?"

"Too late," she grinned, "it means we _are_ going down there, and you have to carry me on your shoulders so nobody will, as you put it, trip over me."

And thus it was that soon after Jake arrived, he looked over the crowd to see Trudy waving enthusiastically at him.

"Hey!" she said, grinning as he pushed his way toward them, "That's a new do, isn't it? Suits you, though. It looks like quite the party you've got going here, you really did invite everyone, didn't you?"

"Yup!" Jake grinned back, "and thank Neytiri for the hair, it was mostly her idea. Hey, speaking of inviting everyone, there's some folks you really ought to meet. You're gonna be flying with us, after all, so they need to know you and you need to know them. Not that you'd be likely to make a mistake and fire on any of the Na'vi, but they might unless they're told not to. Don't worry," he smiled a little more gently, "I won't make you show yourself off to every single warrior, just the head honchos. That way they can tell their own warriors about you, and everybody'll be good."

"We should probably put some kind of identifying marks or something onto her Sampson, too," Norm pointed out. She wondered if he realized his thumb was rubbing the inside of her right ankle, having worked its way under her pants. She wasn't going to comment or complain about it, though.

"Definitely," Jake agreed, then he turned and made a sharp whistle for attention. "_War leaders to me,_" he said, "_We need to start discussing strategy._"

* * *

Having checked for probably the fifth or sixth time this morning on her patient (who was presently sleeping, thank Eywa for small miracles) Prrala went in search of the _tawtute_ woman she had spoken to yesterday. Generally Prrala was a well-behaved young woman, stern when she needed to be, certainly, and she never let her patients cadge concessions out of her that would possibly endanger their full recovery, but she did have one (small) vice. Prrala was intensely curious. Usually her curiosity could be assuaged through her own thoughts - if she just thought about how something could be, she could often use logic to explain it - but sometimes her logic wasn't enough, and she had to ask questions. Such was the case this morning.

It didn't take long to find her - after all, it wasn't as if there were many _tawtute_ women among them. In fact, Prrala thought it was likely Trrudi was the only one. When Prrala found her, she was climbing upon the back of her _kunsìp_, and she seemed to be doing some sort of fussing with its metal skin.

"_Oel ngatì kameie, Trrudi,_" she gestured politely, "what is it you do?"

"Oh!" Trrudi turned to look at her and almost lost her footing, but showed dexterous skill almost as strong as that of a Na'vi as she managed to catch herself, using her hands to balance as she sat down cross-legged atop the metal beast, "damn, every single one of you walks like a frickin' cat! You startled me. You're...Prrala, right? Tseo'ong's healer friend?"

"Healer, yes," Prrala nodded, "I do not say friend, perhaps."

"Right, gotcha," Trrudi nodded, smiling and blinking one eye in what Prrala vaguely remembered from her school days to be some sort of _tawtute_ gesture of insinuation. "So what can I do for you, Prrala? Need a lift somewhere to get special herbs or something? I gotta conserve fuel, but I could take you if it's really important."

"Lift..." Prrala frowned as she puzzled out the woman's words, "No," she finally said, "I do not need to fly, I merely am...curious. My mother said being always curious is my bad habit," she smiled a little to reassure the _tawtute_ woman.

"Ah," Trrudi nodded, "well whatever you're curious about I'll try to answer if I can. I know how curiosity can make you itch to get the answer until you finally give in. I'm a fairly curious sort of girl myself sometimes, although I'd tried to train myself out of the habit, so ask away," she said, making a wide, expansive gesture with her arms, "seems like I'm in "explaining" mode today anyway, so you might as well take advantage while I'm available."

"You are kind," Prrala thanked her, "what my curiousness asks is... Is it usual among the _sawtute_ or the _uniltìranyu_ for a strong warrior woman such as yourself to choose the courting of a..." she searched for the word, but she couldn't remember it. It had been too long since she needed to use _'Ìnglìsì._ "...of one as your _yawnetu_, Norrm. Among the Omatikaya it is usual that if a woman choose the warrior path she also choose a warrior for her maybe mates someday."

"Ah," Trrudi nodded, "Don't worry, I know what you mean. We get lots of surprised looks, not to mention Normy gets lots of congratulations from the other guys. Well, that or disbelief. Or they figure I'm just stringing him along," she frowned. "Er, I mean that I'm letting him think I've chosen him to amuse myself. It's not true," she quickly added, "I mean, yeah, he doesn't _seem like_ my type, but you can't always judge a book by its cover, and I'm talking about me there, not Norm. He's pretty much what you see is what you get. Well, mostly anyway. I suspect there's hidden depths to him I haven't seen yet, but that's true of any person really. With me it's more..." She hesitated, then smiled again, "you know, I feel kinda weird sitting up here talking down, gimme a sec and I'll just hop down and sit in the cargo bed so we can see eye to eye.

Before Prrala had a moment to decipher what exactly all the words Trrudi had said meant, the _tawtute_ woman was hopping adeptly down from the top of her _kunsìp_, using hand-holds to slow her descent, then hopping down to the ground, moving around to the side and hopping back up again into the open area of the back where Prrala had ridden as they left the site of the fallen _Kelutral_.

"There," she said, crossing her legs and leaning back comfortably against the inside wall, "now, I was explaining about Norm and me. I guess...well, it all started the first day I flew him out in his avatar...his, um, _uniltìrantokx_," she began, and Prrala settled herself down to listen to the story, "He was just so...enthusiastic. I mean, there was this kinda...almost innocence in his happiness, you know? Plus he's got that gangly look of a puppy that hasn't quite grown into his body yet."

"Puppy?" Prrala couldn't help but interrupt. She had been able to mostly follow the rest of Trrudi's explanation, but she had no idea what a "puppy" was.

"Hmm...Like a baby _nantang_ I guess," Trrudi said thoughtfully, "All big feet and floppy ears and tail and kinda goofy but sweet?"

"Ah," Prrala nodded. She'd seen baby _nantang_ once or twice, and she thought she could see what Trrudi was describing as it related to Norrm. The _uniltìranyu_ certainly seemed to have a young, somewhat unfinished look to him at times.

"Yeah," Trrudi nodded, "so anyway, after that I saw him around a little bit, but the next time I really got to spend any time around him was when I took Grace and the boys up to the mountains. He was just so...adorable!" Trrudi's eyes shaded with memory and affection, and Prrala thought to herself that she almost wished she had someone who made her eyes turn so liquid with warmth. "He was really excited about getting to see the mountains, and he called shotgun...um, I guess you'd say he requested the seat next to mine, in the front, so he'd have the best view," she explained, "I warned him if he sat up front it meant he had to have a flying lesson, but he didn't mind that at all, in fact, he was really enthused, which only made me more inclined to like him. See, if you like my baby here," she patted the floor she was sitting on, "you're more'n alright in my books. So anyway, he was a real quick study, and...well maaaybe I kinda gave him a few...hints...that I might be willing to be closer to him in a more...physical way, if you know what I'm saying."

"Ah," Prrala nodded.

"And okay, maybe I wasn't meaning it to be anything more than just a little physical fun at first," Trrudi admitted, "but that didn't last long. I couldn't just... Something about him just wouldn't let me keep things from going deeper than I'd meant them to. I mean, I'm glad about it now," she said, glancing over to where Norrm's empty _uniltìrantokx_ rested, the man himself having some sort of strange _tawtute_ things he had to do inside their metal tent, she supposed, "but it took a little getting used to, the idea that I might actually have found someone I wanted to spend time with for sex and for getting into weird, crazy talks at all hours. Plus, he found out my secret," she added. "I'm...well, I guess you'd say I'm the daughter of the _Olo'eyktan_ of a clan that's different from most of the other _sawtute_ that come here - actually, the same type of people had my father killed, and I've been in hiding most of my life, not even telling anyone what my true clan was, and he's the first person ever to actually figure it out without needing to be told. Just came up to me one night and started talking to me in my childhood language. Shocked the hell out of me," she laughed, "and I almost didn't tell him he had it right but...well, I couldn't ignore those sappy eyes of his. Besides, he'd come to me first, he hadn't said anything to anyone else, so I knew I not only liked - no, loved him, I also knew I could trust him."

"It is...truly it is a story of true beloved ones," Prrala couldn't help but stare, although with a smile. "I did not know..."

"Well, I guess so," Trrudi shrugged, "but I'd appreciate if you kept it to yourself, hmm? I mean, the whole world doesn't need to know I'm a big sap, right?"

"It is not my story to tell," Prrala assured her, "and I should check on probably my patient again. It has been a bit of time we are talking and he maybe would misbehave again."

That made Trrudi laugh. "Right," she agreed, "you'd better check up on him and make sure he's behaving himself. Tell him hi from me, would you? And that I said he'd better listen to you or I'll stand over him and poke him every time he moves to make sure he stays still."

"I will speak to him of your greetings," Prrala smiled, "and your also warning. _Eywa ngahu_, Trrudi."

"_Eywa ngahu_," Trrudi waved, getting to her feet and hopping down again, only to climb back up where she had been when Prrala found her, back to fussing with whatever it was that needed fussing with on her _kunsìp_.

Truly, _sawtute_ were odd, but, Prrala thought, perhaps in some ways not all that different from the People after all.

* * *

Ninat frowned to herself, beginning to feel a seed of concern sprout within her. True, everyone was spread out, and with the influx of warriors from all the other clans beginning, it was becoming more and more difficult to find individuals if you didn't already know where they were camping, but she should have been able to find one young singer by now. She wanted to thank Ama' again for sitting with her when she had been unwilling to leave the singers' alcove with Tom, and more than that she wanted to thank the girl for bringing the food and water that had kept her strong while she waited for Tom to wake and then for them to be rescued, but the girl was seemingly nowhere to be found. Ninat had wanted to track her down on her own, but it was getting to be late in the day, and she didn't want to go to sleep tonight without speaking to Ama' so she headed over to where her mother and father had set up their small encampment. If anyone knew where the singers and apprentice singers were it would be her father, after all.

Partway along her journey she encountered Tom, who had been helping his brother with something earlier and had left her to her hunt.

"_No luck yet?_" he asked, a concerned frown crossing his face.

"_Nothing,_" she shook her head, "_I go now to speak to Father and find out if he knows where she might be._"

"_I'll come with you,_" Tom said, taking her hand in his reassuringly. It didn't really help, though. It only made her worry worse. After all, if he was concerned also, then her worry couldn't be as baseless as she was hoping.

"_Oel ngatì kameie, ma Sempul,_" she said as she found both her parents talking to one of the other older singers, "_I am wondering if you know something._"

"_What is it, ma 'ite?_" Kxawn'e asked, walking a little apart to speak to them privately.

"_I have been looking much of the day for young Ama' who comforted me before the fall of Kelutral,_" she explained, "_I wished to thank her._"

"_Ah,_" Kxawn'e sighed, shaking his head, "_if you wish to speak to her you will have to go to the Tree of Souls, ma 'ite; Ama' did not escape Kelutral's fall. I am sorry._"

"_She...but I watched her dash away,_" Ninat protested, "_I made her run to safety!_" She felt Tom's arms come around her in comfort but she was only barely aware of him. "_It is my fault,_" she moaned, "_I should have sent her away when she first came to sit with me, I should never have let her stay!_"

"_It was Eywa's will,_" Kxawn'e shook his head, "_Ama' will not blame you for what happened, and she would not want you to blame yourself either._"

"_Kehe,_" she shook her head, "_it __**is**__ my fault!_" She blazed with a sudden flash of anger, although whether the anger was at her father for trying to reassure her or at herself for her own foolishness she couldn't quite tell. The anger quickly drained away, though, and all that was left was an empty, hollow sadness. She keened with the pain in her heart and swayed on her feet, and then she had been turned, her face pressed into Tom's shoulder, and he was stroking her hair.

"_I'm sorry, love, I'm sorry,_" he said, gently rocking her as he lowered them to sit on the ground, "_let it out, she wouldn't want you to be sad too long._"

"_I told her to be safe,_" Ninat whispered between sobs, "_to keep herself safe for the man who would someday be hers. She...she had someone, there was a young man courting her though she would not give his name. What will I say to him when he learns her death was my fault._"

"_He won't blame you,_" she felt Tom shake his head, "_he will put the blame where it belongs, on the crazed sawtute who brought Kelutral down...and so should you, love, so should you. Truly, only the sawtute are to blame in this._"

Ninat closed her eyes and just shivered in his arms, her tears having run dry for the moment, at least. She knew they were not gone for good, however. For now her anger at all the _sawtute_ had done kept them at bay, but she would likely dampen Tom's shoulder again before the night was out.

* * *

Sitting with Louise, Carlos and all the rest of the Avatars - even Jake - for his first real Omatikaya-hosted dinner, Taka couldn't stop looking around and taking in the scene, almost to the point where he was forgetting to eat. Thank goodness Louise was there to poke him in the side or shove _teylu_ against his mouth until he opened it to let her push them in (and if he happened to suck on her fingers just a bit while she was doing it, well, it was all her own fault anyway for putting her fingers so close to his mouth in the first place) It was just so remarkable being in such a group. He was at once reminded of both the cafeteria back at Hell's Gate, and something far more primordial, more primeval. He almost thought he could understand the draw of becoming an anthropologist. Well, almost, he laughed to himself and shook his head at his whimsy.

The thing was, though, as he looked around, he didn't see natives to be studied, he saw _people_. People whose entire way of life was threatened, people who didn't deserve what had been done to them, and more than anything else, people who needed to be protected. The battle was coming, soon, although they still didn't know exactly when, and Taka had decided he was not going to be some kind of passive observer. He was going to do what he could, whatever it took, to keep these people safe.

When dinner was over, he caught Jake's attention and motioned him over to speak privately.

"What's up?" the ex-marine and current _Toruk Makto_ asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Whatever happens in this battle that's coming, I'm going to help," Taka said, "Both Carlos and I brought the rifles we had for protection back at Site 12 when we started our rescue mission, and the _chibi-tachi_ can be my better eyes and nose."

Jake sighed. "I shouldn't take you up on that, I mean, the cubs're still so young, they shouldn't have to see shit like what's probably gonna go down tomorrow, but..." he shook his head, "I can't turn down any offers either. How about this. I assign you to helping guard the perimeter of the bowl. The battle _probably_ won't come to you, but at the same time, you'll be able to take out anyone who actually does make it in this far."

"I can live with that," Taka nodded, "I'm not eager to have to take a life, after all, or to be too far from my Louise, but needs must, as they say."

"Exactly," Jake nodded, "couldn't've put it better myself."

* * *

After dinner, while warriors and leaders planned strategy for the upcoming battle, Mo'at retired to a quiet corner. It had been an interesting day, and she wasn't sure whether that was a good or a bad thing, but she knew there would be more "interesting" days to come. Grace had once told her there was a curse spoken by some _sawtute_ for one to "live in interesting times", and she felt she could truly appreciate it now. Someday long after she had joined her mate and their older children in Eywa's embrace, songs would be sung about this time that would have everyone from the youngest child to the oldest of the elders leaning in to hear every word, even if they had heard them already a thousand times before. She suddenly felt as though she could sympathise with those who had known the men who had become _Toruk Makto_ before. Certainly their lives had been _interesting_ as well.

She heard her daughter's soft footstep nearby, and she smiled as she looked up and caught Neytiri's eye.

"_Come, sit, ma 'ite,_" she said, patting the space next to her, "_I have not seen you for two days now. You are looking well; it would seem mated life agrees with you._" In fact, Neytiri was quite literally glowing with happiness, and it eased the pain in her heart just a little to see her daughter so much at ease with herself and the world in a way she had not been since Sylwanin's death.

"_It...does indeed, ma Sa'nok,_" Neytiri's _sanhì_ flushed brightly, "_but I wonder...is it usual for a male to...mmm...to wish to take private time together so often? I do not mind it,_" she quickly added, "_it just seems to me I do not remember others disappearing for privacy with their mates so many times in one day as Jhake seems to desire. Not that I'm complaining!_" she added again, and Mo'at had to laugh.

"_I did not think you were, ma 'ite,_" she said, "_You have the look of a well-satisfied woman about you. But how often is "often"? After all, for some, once in every day would seem excessive._"

"_Once in a day? Oh, no,_" Neytiri shook her head, "_these past days it has been more likely to be four or five times in the day, and again before we sleep at night. Not that it troubles me I just..._"

"_Wonder if it's normal,_" Mo'at laughed again, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "_There are things I had not spoken of to you yet,_" she said, "_things which I would have warned you about before your mating, had I had the chance. Tell me, does he comment on your scent particularly during these...frequent private moments?_"

"_My...scent? I suppose,_" Neytiri frowned thoughtfully, "_I had not thought anything of it. After all, Jhake has always commented that as one of the People his sense of smell is more acute than when he is tawtute. I have always thought this must make him more aware of scents and more overwhelmed by them._"

"_That may be so,_" Mo'at nodded, "_but I think it more likely something else is at work here. When Eywa has chosen to bless a woman, she makes subtle changes to the woman's scent. Most are unaware of them, but the woman herself may notice a faint sweet scent about herself, and her mate will become extremely aware of the change in her scent, even if he does not know what it means._"

"_You mean, I..._" Neytiri's eyes went wide.

"_It is likely that you are to be blessed by Eywa soon, if your mates efforts have not already brought about that outcome,_" Mo'at nodded, and then she could not contain her smile, "_Of course it is too early to know for certain, and Jhake may have simply been making up for the time the two of you lost when you were separated by the fall of Kelutral._"

Neytiri shook her head, closing her eyes and taking a deep, careful breath. "_Perhaps I smell sweetness,_" she said, "_I...do not know if I am now simply imagining it since you told me what to look for. I think I need a walk to clear my head. Thank you, ma Sa'nok, for sharing your wisdom with me._"

"_There is always more to share,_" Mo'at embraced her baby daughter, then pushed her gently away, "_now off for your walking and thinking, I will sit and think, and perhaps imagine what a grandchild might be like. I find myself hoping he or she takes after you, ma 'ite,_" she teased.

That made Neytiri throw her head back with gleeful laughter, and she squeezed Mo'at's hand as she stood. "_You must tell me how you imagine my children might be,_" she said, "_I love you dearly, ma Sa'nok._"

"_And I, you, ma 'ite,_" Mo'at whispered as Neytiri strode away, no doubt in search of her mate to share this most precious news.

* * *

With three of the other "Science Guerrillas" guarding the doors, Max opened the channel to Site 26's new location. Just the thought of what he'd seen, what the others had seen, was enough to make his stomach want to curl itself into a little tiny ball and eat itself in its own acids.

"Jake, it's crazy here," he hissed as the interior of the link-mod became visible on his monitor, "it's full mobilization; they're rigging the shuttle as a _bomber_! They've got huge pallets of mine explosives, it's for some kinda "shock and awe" campaign."

He heard Chacón mutter something about "daisy-cutters" and frowned. She'd obviously encountered these kind of tactics before, and none of the small group gathered around the screen on the other end of the connection seemed to be anything but grim at his news.

"Quaritch's taken over. He's rollin' and there's no stoppin' him." Max tried to convey the level of crazy the Security Chief had reached, but it was impossible to truly comprehend without seeing it yourself.

"When?" was all Jake asked, his military straightforwardness strangely reassuring.

"Oh-six-hundred tomorrow," Max said, then he heard Nala behind him.

"Max!" she warned. Someone must be coming, he was going to have to cut this short.

"I gotta go," he said, flicking the communications off immediately, leaving only the Solitaire game Bailey had programmed into the one-touch "employer privacy safeguard" program he'd set up on the computer.

Max turned around in the chair as casually as he could, putting a smile on his face. There was someone in military-looking duds coming through the door, and he didn't want to do anything to tip the fellow off.

"Were you looking for something?" Nala asked the man, "or did you take a wrong turn or something? I always get lost here even though I've been here for over three years now. It's all the sameness in the hallways," she shrugged, trying to distract him from anything he might have seen.

"No need ta fash yourselves on my account," the man smiled at them, "I'm something of on your side, really. Jaime Ricketts," he introduced himself, holding out his hand to Max, "Comm-ops, ex-Patricia, and firmly of the belief that Quaritch needs to get his head from out his arse and not keep digging us an even bigger hole than we're already in."

Max let out a breath he wasn't even aware he'd been holding and took the man's hand in his own. "Good to meet you, Jaime, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Thought we might do a little mutual planning," Jaime grinned a wolfish sort of grin, "and figured even with my iffy shoulder you could do with a crack shot and a sniper on your side."

"Definitely," Max agreed, "Now, here's what we've figured so far..."

* * *

Her head still buzzing with everything her mother had explained, Neytiri went to find her mate. She knew he had been out of his _uniltìrantokx_ earlier in order to speak with their allies back at the home of the _sawtute_ but she thought he should be finished with that now. Certainly he was not where he had laid down to "un-link" as he called it. She bent over the empty bed of moss and peered at the ground, sorting out the mess of tracks to find his most recent ones. It looked as though he had headed toward _Vitrautral_, so that was where she went as well, all her senses alert for a sign of his presence.

When she saw him, he was just in the act of kneeling down, addressing the tree, and even though she knew she ought to give him his privacy, she moved a little closer, hoping to hear what it was he prayed for, this night before the battle they all knew would come tomorrow.

"Probably...just talking to a tree right now," he said, and she sighed, rolling her eyes a little. Every time she thought he had begun to truly See, she realized just how far from a true understanding of Eywa he really was, "but if you're there, I need to give you a heads-up." She watched as he linked his _tswin_ to the frond as she, herself, had taught him just before their mating, and she smiled a little. Maybe there _was_ hope for him after all.

"If Grace is with you look into our memories, see the world we come from," he continued, and she moved a little closer. He tried to keep that world hidden from her when they bonded, she knew he did. Not because he didn't want to share everything with her, but because he knew it disturbed and upset her, "There's no green there," he insisted, "they killed their Mother, and they're gonna do the same here!

"More Sky People're gonna come. They're gonna come like a...a rain that never ends," she heard as she crept ever closer, drawn by the need to be with him, to comfort him in his obvious distress, "unless we stop them.

She was standing directly behind him now, but he still wasn't aware of her, too deeply directed into his _tsaheylu_ with the great tree. "Look, you chose me for something," he said with passion, "I will stand and fight, you know I will, but I need a little help here." He lowered his head then, breaking the bond, and she came over to comfort him, her own excitement of a few minutes ago almost forgotten.

She placed her hands on his shoulder, telling him without words that she would always be at his side, and she sighed as she raised him to his feet. "Our Great Mother does not take sides, Jhake," she reminded him, "she protects only the balance of life."

He directed his gaze up into the boughs of the tree, alive with light, _atokirina'_ dancing within it, and then with a deep sigh he turned his eyes back to hers. "It was worth a try," he said.

She took his shoulders in her hands, wordlessly pulling him toward her until their foreheads and noses pressed together. Now would be the time to tell her news, and yet... She took a deep breath, almost opening her mouth to speak, but then she stopped herself. If he knew, if he even suspected she might be carrying their child, he would never allow her to fly into battle tomorrow, and she needed to be there, at his side. There would be few enough warriors as it was; many of those who travelled to _Vitrautral_ to join the gathering of the clans were still some days' travel away. Every bow would be needed tomorrow, and she could not allow him to make himself conflicted any more than he already was about her flying at his side. She would tell him tomorrow, after everything was over and they had emerged victorious. He would be angry, she was sure, but he could not stay angry for long, not in the wake of such a miracle.

* * *

**Well! Some familiar scenes from a slightly different perspective, and emotional stuff all over the map, yikes! Hope you all enjoyed the happy bits, at least.**

**As to what our dear Mr. Kater called Quaritch, I'm not going to translate it, but suffice it to say it's a mildly nasty word in Afrikaans, and I have the Alternate Dictionaries to thank for it. Such an awesome resource of...er...colourful language in other languages, I must say!**

**And now, onward to Vocab:**

**_ikran _- Banshee**  
**_tawtute / sawtute _- sky person/people, human(s)**  
**_uniltìranyu / ayuniltìranyu_ - dream walker(s), avatar(s)**  
**_yawnetu _- beloved one, boyfriend/girlfriend**  
**_kunsìp makto_ - my guess for "pilot" from "Gunship" and "rider"**  
**_tsampongu _- war party**  
**_Toruk Makto_ - Legendary figure who calls the Na'vi together in a time of great sorrow**  
**_palulukan / pxefalulukan _- thanator/ three thanators. The Na'vi have different prefixes for two, three and many (me, pxe and ay respectively)**  
**_Tsahìk_ - spiritual leader**  
**_ayVitraya Ramunong_ - Well of Souls**  
**_Kelutral_ - Hometree**  
**_Vitrautral_ - Tree of Souls**  
**_toruk _- great leonopteryx**  
**_tsmukan_ - brother**  
**_Olo'eyktan_ - clan leader**  
**_nivi _- sleeping hammock**  
**_'Rrta_ - Earth**  
**_tsamsiyu_ - warrior**  
**_tsmuke_ - sister**  
**_Oel ngatì kameie_ - I See you, standard Na'vi greeting**  
**_'Ìnglìsì_ - English**  
**_uniltìrantokx_ - dreamwalker body, avatar body**  
**_nantang _- viperwolf**  
**_Eywa ngahu_ - Eywa be with you, equal to "goodbye"**  
**_Sempul_ - Father**  
**_teylu _- edible beetle grubs, aparrently quite tasty, especially "Grandma's Teyly" ^_~**  
**_sanhì _- stars or, in this case, bioluminescent freckles**  
**_'ite_ - daughter**  
**_Sa'nok_ - Mother**  
**_tswin _- queue**  
**_tsaheylu _- the bond**  
**_atokirina'_ - seeds of the sacred tree, messengers of Eywa  
**


	38. Chapter 37: The Day of Battle Dawns

**Last chapter before the axe comes down, as it were. I'm actually really proud of this one, especially the first scene, that I hadn't even planned but came to me as I was out pounding the pavement a couple of days ago delivering newspapers.**

**I would also, in this chapter, thank one of my frequent reviewers (she'll know who she is ^_~) for a quote I borrowed whole hog from an old email.**

**Take a deep breath with me, all of you, before diving in. This one's starting to pick up the pace!  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 37: The Day of Battle Dawns

Sometime in the dark hours of the night, Norm woke to the sensation of fingers tracing lightly along his collarbones. He lay very still, not quite sure if Trudy was actually awake or if she was just moving a little in her sleep, but when the fingers moved up to his lips he couldn't resist the urge to open his mouth and nip lightly at them, his own hand moving to stroke through her hair. She made a little appreciative noise and shifted her leg so that it brushed against him, outlining the fact that he was already reacting quite strongly to her touch.

Norm was no dummy, he could see where this was going, and normally he would have objected, given the fact that the twins were sleeping not all that far from their hammock, but knowing what was to come with the dawn's light, he couldn't find it in him to care. The sides of the hammock curled around them, after all, and he would just have to make sure they stayed quiet. To that end, he moved the hand that was in her hair to tug her up against him until their lips met, and the other hand slid down her back and over the curve of her hip to slide into the panties she wore under a long shirt of his she'd borrowed for sleeping in.

With careful, deliberate movements, she traced her fingers down over his chest and into the flap of his pajamas, cupping him briefly before shifting over until she was on top of him. Norm lay very still, not wanting to overbalance them and end up up-ended, and when she stopped moving again he pulled her down for another kiss.

Then he reached down, pulling her panties to the side, and sank into her more-than-willing body.

They rocked together with a slow, languid sort of urgency, the cocooning nature of the hammock not allowing for any large movements, and Norm could feel her breath, coming in short, desperate little pants that blew against his cheek and over his ear and seemed to curl around his heart like glowing silver threads binding them together. And when she let out a heartbreakingly helpless whimper he caught her mouth with his own to drown the sound, although whether it was to keep the twins from waking or whether it was because he didn't want to hear the inevitability in her voice he wasn't entirely sure. Both of them knew what was coming, whether they wanted to acknowledge it or not, and both of them knew this could be the last chance they had to make love, to revel in the way their bodies fit together like two pieces of an ancient, primeval puzzle.

After, as they lay together, still silent, wrapped in each other, their breaths and hearts finally slowing, Norm couldn't quite stifle the horrible premonition that this was the last time he would ever hold her tiny, curvy body tight against his own, and although he closed his eyes, he dared not go to sleep. Right now, he didn't want to dream.

* * *

With a small frown, Jaime tried not to fidget in any obvious way as he waited for the colonel to start. Everyone had been called to the main debriefing hall and they knew it had something to do with the preparations for battle that had been going on since the night before. Well, that "everyone" wasn't quite true, he corrected himself, all the sec-ops and coms-ops folks were here, and the miners as well, but there was one group on-base that was conspicuously absent - the scientists. It was deliberate, of course; even if Quaritch didn't know what they were planning, he had to know he couldn't trust them completely, so Jaime knew that right now he had a very important duty to his cause: He had to listen to every word said here, every hint of tactics, and when the time came, he had to be ready.

Finally, once the hall was full and there was an appropriate level of silence, Quaritch spoke.

"Everyone on this base - every one of you - is fighting for survival, and that's a fact," he started. "There's an aboriginal horde out there massing for an attack." The blinds closed and the screen this created was soon filled with what had to be an orbital infrared image of an area with heavy magnetic flux, given the obvious stone arches.

"Now, these orbital images tell me that the hostiles' numbers have gone from a few hundred to well over two thousand in one day, and more are pourin' in." The next image showed a much larger infrared signature around the same area, and Jaime had to admit he was impressed. For a Neolithic people, the Na'vi sure could move fast.

"In a week's time there could be twenty thousand of them," Quaritch said, "at that point they will overrun our perimeter. Well. That's not gonna happen. Our only security lies in preemptive attack. We will fight terror with terror."

'Great,' Jaime thought to himself, 'now we're relying on that tired old adage. Never worked when they first came up with it either, if I remember right. Gotta add that to the stuff those boys're putting together to send back once what's inevitable goes down.'

"Now the hostiles believe that this mountain stronghold of theirs is protected by their...their _deity_," the derision of such a "fanciful" idea was clear in Quaritch's voice, and Jaime heard a few quiet chuckles echoing through the assembled men as well. He really was doing quite the job of setting up an "us and them" kind of situation, "and when we destroy it, we will blast a crater in their racial memory so deep that they won't come within a thousand clicks of this place ever again. And that, too, is a fact."

The room erupted with cheers, and Jaime felt a sinking in the pit of his stomach. This was pure stupidity, and he knew it. A lot of these men and women were going to die today, and for what? So their bosses could get rich, that's what for. Humans, as the saying goes, are smart individually, but critically dumb in mobs. But then, that had always been the difference between a sniper and a common soldier. Soldiers were encouraged not to think, but snipers worked on their own, they _had_ to learn to think, or they'd never get the job done. Jaime rubbed surreptitiously at his bad shoulder. One of the med techs who was with the scientists had given him a shot of joint-loosener last night after he'd gone to let them know he was on their side, and he knew that if it came down to it, he'd be able to shoot today if he had to. He just sincerely hoped it didn't come down to that.

* * *

"Okay, so before you go running off into the wild blue yonder, I just have one question for you," Tom said as he scarfed down food before linking up that morning, "What the hell were you ever thinking trying for _toruk_? I mean, seriously!"

Jake laughed as he threw his empty algaepak across the link-mod for a perfect three-pointer into the trash. "Honestly? I wasn't really thinking all that much. It just seemed like the right thing. Especially after the dream I had in my _uniltaron_, you know?"

Tom blinked. "So randomly jumping onto the back of the biggest areal predator on the planet just "seemed like the right thing" did it? Sometimes I wonder about you. I mean, do we really share the same genetics?"

Jake rolled his eyes. "Well clearly some vital part didn't get switched on in your case," he teased, "but seriously man, you know you would've done it too, if the situation had come down to that. There wasn't much that was going to be able to get me back in the Omatikaya's good books after I screwed up before I even started." He frowned, "and now I've gotta go fix that."

Tom reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just don't take any really stupid chances," he said. "Semi-stupid chances are, of course, inevitable, but keep the supremely stupid ones to a minimum, would you? You have something to come home to now, a family, not just me, and although I'd always watch over Neytiri for you if something _were_ to happen, I really don't want that responsibility, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," Jake nodded, "and hey, who's the big brother in this equation? Don't go stepping above your station now, little brother!"

"Oh come on, fifteen minutes' difference is hardly enough for you to be pulling the "big brother" card," Tom laughed, "You know in some tribes in Africa they said the second twin to emerge was actually the firstborn because he..."

"...sent his younger brother to test the path, I know, I know," Jake stuck his tongue out, "you've mentioned it before. Unfortunately for you, we don't belong to any of those African tribes."

"Yeah, yeah," Tom laughed good-naturedly, "just...take care of yourself out there. I'll be thinking of you the whole time, and you _know_ I'll know if something happens."

"You just take care of yourself and the others down here," Jake shook his head, "and try to get out if something goes seriously FUBAR."

Not that it was likely to make any difference, and both of them knew it. If that shuttle dropped its load successfully, the link-mod was more than close enough to _Vitrautral_ to be taken out as collateral damage, and if the link-mod was taken out, it wouldn't matter where their avatars were, they'd be done for. Even so, though...

"It had just better not go FUBAR," Tom shook his head, hopping up into his link bed.

"No intention of letting it," Jake agreed as he hauled himself in as well.

Then both of them hit the relevant buttons and closed the lids, both wordlessly agreeing that they wouldn't bring the topic up again in their other bodies. The time for worrying was past, now it was time for action.

* * *

When they woke that morning, Norm and Trudy didn't say anything about what had happened in the middle of the night. They didn't need to. Everything that needed to be said had been said in their wordless sharing, so this morning, they focused on preparing for battle. Norm would be fighting as well (a thought that didn't particularly please Trudy, but she was the last person to tell someone not to fight for what they believed in, and she knew how someone could feel the need to be _doing_ something) and she wanted to tell him to stay safe, but...she knew better. So instead of doing something stupidly clingy (and when had she _gotten_ so clingy anyway? It totally wasn't like her) she changed into her flight suit, tying the long sleeves of the top around her waist. It didn't seem quite right though, it needed something else, something...more. That was when she remembered the armband Tseo'ong had made her way back when. She dug it out of its hiding place at the bottom of her bag, and turned to Norm, who was sitting up in his link-bed pressing buttons to get it running.

"Hey, help me with this?" she held it out to him.

"Sure," he smiled, taking it from her and wrapping it around her left arm. His fingers lingered against her skin, but then his arms fell to his sides again and he looked a little lost. "I...guess I'd better link up," he said, "get some breakfast in the other body before I...do what I have to do."

"I'll meet you out there," she said, then pulled him close for a soul-searing kiss before pushing him back down into the link-bed and shutting the lid, doing the last bit of button-pressing to send him into his other body. He'd taught her how one morning, fair repayment for her own flying lessons, and she remembered the feel of his fingers over her own, her surprise at how calloused his hands were, for a "scientist"...

She shook her head to clear her mind; then headed out through the airlock. She'd made everything ready last night, so she knew she didn't have to do anything for her baby but her usual pre-flight checks, which meant she had a little time. Which was good, there were a few people she wanted to talk to before she didn't have another chance to.

As it turned out, everyone she wanted to talk to was in one place after all. She went over to where Tseo'ong was resting, and he already had a couple of visitors.

"_I See you, Tamrrlìn, Laneya,_" she smiled, "_I See you, Tseo'ong._"

"_I See you, Trrudichakon,_" Tamrrlìn gestured politely to her, "_your speaking is much improved._"

"It's not that great yet," Trudy shook her head ruefully, "but I'm working on it."

"You will fly with _ikran makto_ today?" Laneya cocked her head at Trudy, and the pilot had to squelch the urge to pinch her cheeks from the extreme level of cute.

"I will," she nodded, "I'll do my best to keep you all safe."

"Why you don't have paint? All warriors have paint, even your _kunsìp_ but you not," Laneya frowned, "I will get." She jumped to her feet and scampered off, and her mother watched her go.

"_She does not truly understand yet,_" Tamrrlìn sighed, "_and I pray to Eywa that she will not need to understand tonight._"

Trudy nodded. "_I also_," she agreed. "She's...I was about her age when I left my _Kelutral_..." She shook her head. She didn't want to think of that today, to remember the vidscreen images she should never have seen, of her father being killed, their village burned. She hadn't been there to witness it in person, but she wasn't sure if that was just worse. She'd never heard her father's last words, never had a proper chance to say goodbye...

"_I am glad you chose to wear my gift today,_" Tseo'ong smiled, reaching a hand out to pat her arm. "_I will pray to Eywa it keeps you safe._"

"I'm sure it will," she said, patting his hand, then she turned and smiled as Laneya returned, dragging Norm along by one hand, the other carrying a basket full of...she wasn't sure what, but she figured it must involve paint.

"I have paint brought!" Laneya said happily, "and found also your _yawnetu_."

Norm smiled a little sheepishly, his ears drooping as he looked at the girl. "She's very persuasive," he said, then gestured politely to the other two adults in greeting.

"_I hear you, too, will ride today,_" Tseo'ong nodded to Norm, "_you will make us proud, but you must be careful. You have your yawnetu to return to, as she will return to you._"

"_I will do my best,_" Norm smiled over at Trudy.

"You _makto_ also? You we will paint also then." Laneya said firmly, "no time left to weave hair but when next time you here I will for you." Then she looked over at Trudy, cocked her head again as she was thinking, then reached up into her hair and pulled loose her woven headband. "For you can wear," she said.

"I..._irayo,_" Trudy smiled at her.

"How we can put paint on you?" Laneya frowned as she lifted the lid of a converted seedpod to reveal white, yellow, red and blue paints.

"I'll hold my breath," Trudy smiled at her, "and you can paint me quick, then I'll put my mask back on. I won't need it in the Sampson."

"Let me," Norm said softly, meeting her eyes with his.

She nodded, took a deep breath, then switched the vacuum seal of her mask off and lifted it away from her face. She closed her eyes, trusting him to know what her war-markings ought to look like.

"Technically you should wear red, for the dawn, but I think blue would be best, to tie the sky and land and underworld together,"

She smiled and nodded, and with her eyes still closed, felt his large but delicate avatar fingers smoothing the paint over her eyes.

"And white," he whispered, "for the north." His lips brushed her forehead beneath her bangs, and then his fingers slid along below her eyes and over her cheekbones. "There, done," he smiled.

Trudy kept her eyes closed and her breath held just long enough to make sure it wasn't going to smudge too badly, then put her mask back on and opened her eyes. "Now it's your turn," she told him.

He smiled at her. "Okay," he said, "make me look like a warrior."

Trudy grinned at him and dipped two fingers into the white. She could have used any of the other colours, but white was _his_ colour, the colour of the north-man. She passed her fingers over his eyes the same way he had done to hers, creating a wide white band.

"_May Eywa keep you safe,_" Laneya moved in close, dipping her fingers, but not her thumb, into the white as well and laying her three fingers across his left cheek.

"_Irayo,_" Norm smiled at her, "now it's time we must go."

They both stood, and Norm placed his hands on her shoulders. "Take care of yourself," he said; then he turned and started jogging over to where the riders from the horse clans were gathering.

As she was about to step up into her Sampson, she was stopped one final time.

"_Be safe, my friend, and fight well,_" Prrala said, handing her a string of beads with a feather decoration in the middle, "_wear this for me. It kept me safe until you could rescue me, and it will keep you safe and in Eywa's view._"

Trudy nodded gravely at her and wrapped the beads twice around her right arm. "_Eywa watch over you also,_" she said, "no matter what happens today, I know you'll be busy, so take care of yourself so you can take care of the rest of us."

"I will," Prrala smiled, and jogged away as Trudy hopped the rest of the way into her seat and closed the door, waiting for the door to close and the air to cycle through before lifting her mask off again and slipping the headband on. It was...different, going into battle like this. She'd always been a part of a group before, but she'd never had such a real sense of the "folks at home" depending on her. As she ran through her pre-flight checks, she swore to herself, and to her father's memory, that she would do what it took to keep these people safe. She wanted to return, oh God how she wanted to return safely to Norm like Tseo'ong had said, but if it came out that she couldn't, at least she could ensure the safety of Laneya and her family and all the other Na'vi who'd been hurt by the people she had claimed to belong to for so long.

* * *

The sun was up, and Neytiri had already helped Jhake with his war paint, and now she was preparing the last few items she needed, testing the string of her bow and filling Seze's quiver with arrows. She had, at least, managed to sleep the night before, although only because Jhake had managed to completely exhaust both of them. She suspected it was just as much to comfort himself as for her sake. Well, she more than suspected. The echoes of his emotions that flowed through their bond of _tsaheylu_ made it much easier for her to read him now, to truly See him as she hadn't been able to before, even when she had thought she understood everything about him. Her Jhake was much more easily hurt than she had ever thought, although he hid it well. She also, though, knew that he was far more strong than she had thought, even from the first time she'd seen him, when she'd seen he had no fear.

"_You wear his mark,_" Peyral said, and Neytiri looked up from her arrows to see an expression of sadness flash across her childhood friend's face before her eyes settled back into the firm determination of the strong hunter and warrior she was.

"_As he wears mine,_" Neytiri nodded, "_I...am glad you will be with us today, Peyral, besides Jhake there is no other I would rather have at my back._"

"_I have been at your back since we were three years old,_" Peyral laughed, although it wasn't exactly humour that echoed in her voice, "_why would I leave that pride of place now?_" She shook her head, "_No, I will be at your back, but more than that, I will be protecting Jhake. I swear to you this; I will not leave his side this day. I will protect him as though I were his shadow, since he will not protect himself._"

"_I..._" Neytiri sighed, "_Thank you, ma tsmuke, for watching over my mate since you know I cannot._" Jhake had been quite firm about that during their planning meeting, insisting that neither one of them would be able to stand the thought of the other in danger, as would inevitably happen in battle. It was enough that they would be able to speak using those strange devices of the _sawtute_ that he had passed out to her and Tsu'tey in order to communicate with them across the battlefield to coordinate the attack. "_You must watch over yourself as well, though. I do not wish to lose you either._"

"_And I do not wish to lose either of you two,_" Ninat said, drawing them both close against her into a tight hug. "_Someday I want our children to spend their nights together as we did. All of us,_" she added sternly to Peyral, "_It's about time you find yourself a mate to keep yourself busy at night. With so many handsome males of other clans about, I'm sure you can manage to convince one of the better ones to stay._"

That made Peyral laugh in a much more genuine way. "_And of course you have already watched the comings and goings of the warriors of all the gathered clans and have picked out suitable candidates for me already, I am sure,_" she shook her head, "_You always were the most fond of all of us of gossip and guessing who would be chosen by whom to be their mate._"

"_Come now, if it happens that as a singer I'm a good judge of character, and trained to see the subtle things that others do to conceal their desires, how does that make me a gossip? It isn't as though I spread what I learn beyond you three,_" she pointed out, pouting the way she often had as a child. It might have gotten her out of arguments then, but they were all older and wiser now.

"_You cannot use your training always as an excuse,_" Neytiri chided her, "_some of it may be that, but more of it is your heart. You enjoy watching the love of others blossom, hoping for the same for yourself someday. Now, though, you have all you had hoped for, so you have no need any longer to watch others, kefyak?_"

"_Ah, but someday far in the future, when you are Tsahìk and I Nawma Rolyu, you will be glad of my keen eyes,_" Ninat pointed out, and then she hugged them tight again. "_Just keep yourselves safe, so that we can enjoy that someday when it comes._"

Neytiri looked at Peyral, and both of them nodded. It hurt them little to make the promise to the friend who would have to wait through the horrors of this day unknowing of what they would do. They would do their best to keep their promise to her, of course, but it was understood that this was a promise that could only go so far. In the end, all was in the hands of Eywa.

"_We will do our best to take care,_" Neytiri nodded.

"_We will do our best,_" Peyral agreed.

"_I will hold you to that promise, and if you do not return, I will scold you every day in the realm of Eywa and will not let you rest,_" Ninat smiled, "_Now go, my strong warrior sisters who fly with the great Toruk Makto. My heart flies with you this day. Kìyevame, my dear ones._"

Neytiri stowed the last of her arrows and turned toward the part of the rookery where Seze waited. "_Kìyevame, dear sisters,_" she called; then loped away. She knew Peyral was behind her, but she couldn't bring herself to turn again. She would see her heart-sisters' faces again when they were safe, and that was all there was to it.

* * *

Standing once again on the steps below the Tree of Souls, Neytiri and Tsu'tey again at his side, this felt an awful lot like the last time Jake had prepared to fly out, but at the same time, it was incredibly different. He had taken a moment while the others were preparing to visit the grave they had made for Grace, and he regretted that he hadn't been here to see her returned to the ground she had so loved, but at least he'd been able to lay a few small flowers over the top of it. It was good he'd gone, though. It felt right. Grace was one of the reasons they were doing this, after all. Grace, and Hometree, and a whole lot of other reasons, but Grace had been the tipping-point for him. All she had ever wanted to do was interact peacefully with the People and learn about the forest, in her own way of course, and in trying to help not only the Na'vi but her own people as well, she had been ridiculed, and marginalized, and ignored, and finally imprisoned then shot while escaping. It wasn't right, and something had to be done about it.

He turned to Tsu'tey, nodding that he was about to speak, then turned back to the gathered warriors, a much larger audience than the Omatikaya had been short days before.

"We fly out today to face the greatest threat any of us have known," he said. "The Sky People are out there, and even as we speak they are beginning their own flight, coming here. They want to destroy us, and they think if they move now, before all our warriors are assembled, that they will succeed. It will not be so," he shook his head, "it _cannot _be so, because although they have their gunships and their explosives, we have the strength of our numbers, and our knowledge behind us. I have shown you how to destroy their ships, and your _ikran_ riders know the currents of the mountains as their pilots never will! We are Na'vi and we are _strong_!" he shouted, "We fly today, all of us, and when this day is over and the Sky People have run back to their planet like a _nantang_ with its tail tucked between its legs, our songs will tell of this day, will tell of the bravery and power of the Na'vi people, and our children's children will still speak of us in awe! People of the Na'vi, it is time to take back our land!"

His _toruk_, never one to miss such an opportunity, stood and flared her wings, letting out a roar that was echoed by the warriors of fifteen Na'vi clans, and then, heart pounding, Jake ran through the parting sea of bodies to lead the charge into the skies. He could almost believe they might actually win today, and he was going to keep believing that until the moment he saw the last of the sec-ops taken out. It was a _good_ day to fly!

* * *

Louise sighed. She had already hugged Taka and the babies goodbye and sent them on their way out to the perimeter guarding point they were going to be walking, and okay maybe she had clung to him a little, but damnit this was a war, and she was worried for him! No matter how many times he'd reassured her as they lay in their human forms curled up in bed together last night, she still couldn't quite get past the idea that just when she'd finally found herself a really good man who loved her for her, she was going to lose him. Because she knew the statistics, and the chances of an avatar driver surviving his avatar being outright killed were...not good. Even the shock of being "critically damaged" could be enough to have serious, long-term repercussions for the human body, like brain damage or heart arrhythmias.

She shivered and hugged herself. She didn't want to think about this anymore. She wouldn't lose Taka, and that was that. It had to be! They had too much between them for him to be gone from her life anytime before they were both in their eighties at least! She firmly made herself turn away from the point where he had disappeared over the rim of the bowl-like valley they were in, and she turned instead to watch the _ikran_ riders taking off. It was a truly amazing sight, beautiful and terrifying all in one go as wave after wave of riders ran and clambered over the rocks and up to where the many _ikran_ clung to the sides of the bowl, made _tsaheylu_ with their own mount and hopped on, the _ayikran_ then seeming to drop lazily off the rock face before snapping their wings open and taking to the sky. It reminded Louise a little of a vid she'd once seen of bats leaving a cave to hunt, the hundreds of winged bodies somehow able to move in formation without anything but the most basic communication, simply _knowing_ where the rest of the flock was in the sky. Although...was "flock" the right collective noun for bats? She wasn't sure. It worked well enough, she supposed. She'd never been an English major, after all.

She turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and managed a smile as she saw Cathy standing behind her.

"It's almost chillingly beautiful, isn't it?" Cathy said softly. "It makes me think of a song. "_Óró, Sé do Bheatha 'Bhaile_". I think perhaps I'll work on a translation of it for the victory celebrations. "Welcome oh woman who was so afflicted, it was our ruin that you were in bondage. Our fine land in the possession of thieves, sold to the foreigners". It sounds about right, doesn't it?"

"It does, at that," Louise shook her head slowly, "although...are we not among those "foreigners" ourselves?"

"No, we aren't," Cathy shook her head, "not anymore, in any case. They'd just as gladly kill us as any of the Na'vi for being "race traitors" and you and I both know it."

Louise sighed and placed a protective hand over her belly. "I'd like to believe their better natures would come through," she said, "but I know that's not the case. It makes me sad for humanity, to see what we've done - what we're _continuing_ to do - in the name of progress." She closed her eyes as a wave of sadness washed over her, but hidden within that sadness was something else: a little, separate hint of something warm, content and happy. She gasped, her eyes flying open in shock, and then she closed them again, trying to feel that other consciousness again. It was quieter now, just barely discernable, but it was definitely there! She bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears that suddenly threatened to overflow.

"What is it? Are you alright?" Cathy asked quickly.

"Fine, I'm fine," she shook her head, "it's just... Oh, I wish Taka were here right now, I just felt the baby!"

"Kicking already?" Cathy's surprise was obvious in her voice, "but you're barely showing yet!"

"No, no," Louise shook her head, "not like that. In here," she touched her heart, "a little like _tsaheylu_, except it was really vague. Just...happy. Content." She smiled, "I guess that's a good thing, right? Pämeya told me I'd be able to sense the baby's emotions soon, but I never imagined..."

"See, that's proof everything will be alright," Cathy smiled, "a little "message from Eywa" I'm sure the Na'vi would say. Come on, let's go find Pämeya and you can tell her all about it, then when all this mess is done you'll have a surprise for Taka, won't you?"

"I guess I will at that," she laughed. "You're right, let's go find Pämeya."

* * *

While the rest of Hell's Gate was gathered for what had to be a pre-battle pep-rally in the briefing room, the scientists were taking full advantage of the fact that the contingent of guards who had been 'casually' hanging around them were gone again, and had gathered once more in the Terran plant atrium, and the mood in the room was far different than the first meeting only a couple of days before. Everyone was on-edge, knowing that their resistance movement would soon explode into action, but not being able to do a thing about it yet when everyone was still on-base. Max looked around the somewhat rag-tag bunch, and he knew that although they would none of them have signed up for something like this initially (well, except maybe the MacCool brothers) they were all neck-deep in it now, and if things didn't go as planned... Well, they were just going to have to go as planned, at least in some fashion. The alternative didn't bear thinking about.

He cleared his throat and looked around, catching everyone's attention. "Okay," he said, "in a couple hours or less, Quaritch is going to have his fleet loaded up and heading out to take on the Na'vi in the Hallelujah Mountains. Jake Sully has rallied the clans, and that's where the main battle is going to take place. We have to be ready to move, but, _but_! We can't make any move at all until the tide of the battle has started to turn against the sec-ops! If we show our hand too soon, before Quaritch has totally committed all his forces to the battle in the mountains, he could order some of the Sampsons or Scorpions to return, and quite frankly we aren't equipped to deal with them."

There was a silent chorus of nods as Max regarded his audience, and after a moment to let them absorb that news he continued. "I have a comlink set up with Trudy Chacón, who will let me know when we need to move, or let Jake know when we've started, depending on what circumstances arise. Once we're on the move, our main focus is going to be getting into the link room so the avatar drivers can link up. They'll be able to be much more effective if they're in their avatar bodies, since each avatar has double the height and reach and four times the strength of the average human. Our focus is going to be taking out the Comms-ops center. If we can disable the communications, we disable the nerve-center for coordination of troops. There's no way Quaritch can monitor all of it on his own while also engaging in battle himself, so he's going to be relying on Comms-ops for the routine stuff. Without that, the fleet will quickly turn into an uncoordinated mess, and that will give the Na'vi yet another advantage."

Max smiled slightly as he saw the crowd perk up. Having a concrete plan always helped things. "Once the drivers are in link," he said, "the techs will monitor them - I don't want any glitches causing a random un-linking at a bad moment! - the MacCools will deal with sending out the prepared data we've accumulated with their covert superluminal communications setup that they've apparently had going for years now..." There was genuine laughter at that, and Max could see Bailey was flushing quite pink against his blond hair, "and I'm going to leave you all and do a little judicious borrowing of mine equipment. I spent a few glorious years of my youth working with heavy equipment in order to save up the money I needed to get through school, and I still remember how to drive a slash-cutter, and I do believe I might just find a good use for it." His grin was feral now, and the crowd was getting quite enthused.

"So!" he shook his head, bringing himself back to reality, "until the moment comes, we all have to at least try to act normal, but as soon as we've seen the last of the ships fly off, we get into position, because we're going to need to move quickly when our moment comes."

Max had never thought he'd end up filling the role of the leader of a grass-roots uprising, but as he gazed at his fellow scientists, he couldn't help but feel a little pride welling up within him. Nobody would expect them to do what they had planned, and that was what made it so great. Because nobody thought scientists ever did anything but sit around and think about things...boy would _they_ be proved wrong!

* * *

Parker Selfridge frowned to himself. Something was going on, and he had a bad feeling about it. Well, heck, this whole week had been a bit of a clusterfuck, as the saying went, but once they'd managed to get the natives under control he was sure he'd be able to manage to spin it so it came out right, take a bit of a mulligan, as it were, and return to the normal operation of getting as much unobtanium out of the ground as he possibly could before his term was up. He had three more years on this Godforsaken planet. Three. Years. But if Quaritch could deal with the native population as handily as he was implying, well then, things would run a lot more smoothly, and when the rest of his incarceration on this ridiculous place was finished, he could return home, collect his sizable bonus, and buy that place in the Sierras with the biodome where you could golf on real grass instead of synthroturf. And maybe hire a really hot female caddy. The kind the Chinese had come up with for their high-class types back when they thought they could rule the world, or at least the world economy.

Something about Quaritch's plan wasn't entirely sitting right with him though, he'd been running it through his head and checking on the figures of what assets they had as far as weapons and ammo, and he just couldn't quite figure how he thought he was going to have enough explosive potential without...

"Shit," Parker's eyes went wide as he suddenly made the connection. Moving fast, he stormed out of his office and down to the staging area...which had far more people than he'd expected. It looked like everybody but the scientists was down here, all the sec-ops, of course, but it seemed like pretty near all the miners were down here as well, which meant nothing was getting done. This was looking worse and worse, and only confirming what he'd initially suspected.

Everywhere there were miners being handed camo, being handed ammo, being shown how to operate guns, all of which he'd expected, although he didn't like it at all. Damnit the miners weren't Quaritch's to play with! If they lost too many it would set operations back months, maybe even years! And there wouldn't be another supply ship for close to nine months! If he wasted all of their resources in one punch... And then...Ah shit! It was worse than he'd thought! He'd only thought Quaritch would be bold enough to steal half a pallet of explosives, or maybe one whole pallet, but there, right in front of him, there were men busily loading TWO WHOLE FUCKING PALLETS! That was a full third of their supply, and it wasn't something that was easy to manufacture on-planet.

"No No NO. **NO!**" He ran over to the first of the pallets, slamming his hands against it firmly.

Well, until one of the workers spoke up. "I wouldn't do that, sir," he said calmly, and a little bit of concern for his own limbs managed to filter through the anger that was swiftly taking over Parker's brain.

"Blasting compound goes _back_ to the mine. What's your name?" he asked, pointing to the man who'd spoken, but didn't bother listening for an answer, "You're fired!" he said firmly, looking around for the source of this whole damn problem. He was here, he _had_ to be.

Ah, there he was, fussing with guns of course. "This thing is completely out of control," he frowned, and when Quaritch just muttered something under his breath and turned away, Parker stormed after him. "Listen to me! I am _not_ authorizing you to turn Mineworkers Local into a frickin militia!"

But the man _still_ wouldn't listen! Fuck Parker hated being ignored! Just because he happened to be a little smaller than most of the brainless meatheads the Colonel surrounded himself with didn't give the asshole any right to think he was anything less of a man! Something had to be done here, and it looked like Parker was just going to have to man up and let Quaritch know just exactly how the chain of command worked in this company! Finally the man finished whatever it was he'd been on about to the meathead soldier with the big gun and turned very briefly to Parker before walking off in the other direction, still talking.

"I declared Threat Condition Red, that puts all on-world assets at my command," he pointed out calmly, as though Parker was nothing but a slightly annoying buzzing little fly.

"What? Oh, you think you can pull this "Palace Coup" shit on me?" he yelled, getting up in Quaritch's face the way he'd wanted to a dozen times when the Colonel had tried to walk all over him in those damned army boots, "I can have your ass with _one_ phone call!"

Before he even knew what was happening, Parker was lifted off the ground, his head practically crushed between the security chief's meaty hands, and the man was hissing at him. HISSING for fuck's sake! Quaritch was _totally_ out of control!

"You're a long way from Earth," Quaritch said, and although it sounded calm, suddenly Parker realized he could hear the undertones of "crazy" in the man's voice, and fuck, he could definitely see it in his eyes. He was like something out of one of those ancient early suspense movies...what was it called again? He couldn't quite remember in the mad rush of adrenaline that was urging his bowels to let go, but he knew it had something to do with the phrase "here's Johnny!" for some bizarre reason he could almost hear that coming from Quaritch's mouth, the tiny, sadistic smile widening into a grimace of pure madness.

And then, Parker was being set down, almost gently, the mad eyes still following his, not letting their gazes part, the hands gripping familiarly at his shoulders until Quaritch turned away as though nothing had happened.

"Un-ass this man from the area." He threw the order casually over his shoulder as he continued on his way, off to play with another big gun or get chummy with some other soldier or something like that. Parker didn't know and frankly, now he didn't care. There was so much adrenaline pumping through his system that he suspected if he didn't move now he was going to do something really embarrassing, like faint, throw up or shit himself, and none of those options were anything he wanted to do when surrounded by meathead mercenaries and the miners' militia. "And get that compound loaded!"

"You touch me you are _so fired!_" Parker gritted through his teeth as he turned to leave on his own, ignoring the meathead escort. He could almost fool them into believing he was leaving under his own steam, but he couldn't quite fool himself. This was going from bad to worse to the worst fucking day of his life. At least, he thought, it can't go any lower than this.

* * *

  
Sitting alone in the southwest gun turret on the perimeter of Hell's Gate, Will Winram was watching the battalions of Scorpions and Sampsons flying overhead, and he was feeling very conflicted. On the one hand, he should have been aboard the Dragon, running communications and navigation, not sitting here grounded as everyone else flew off to glory, but on the other hand, everything was so bollixed up at the moment that he wasn't entirely sure that glory could be considered to be anything even remotely close to what the sec-ops force was going to attain today. Even if they won the battle (and Will had his doubts about that) it was a hopeless conflict, logistically, and he was sure he wasn't the only one who knew it. To go out as a (relatively) small force, no matter how better armed, and expect to cow the occupants of an entire continent, not to mention the rest of the planet, into submission with one massive and devastating explosion taking out a major religious site was to ignore the obvious - that when you stir the hornet's nest, you had better be very sure you're ready to be attacked by every single hornet in that nest. And if the hornet's nest is the size of a beach ball and you're going in armed with one can of bug spray and no way to get more, well...the image spoke for itself. This was no Hiroshima, where the opponents had been fought into near-submission before the final, decisive and scarring blow; in this conflict _they_ were the ones outnumbered, and the supply chain had a six-year gap.

As the old saying goes, when it comes to warfare amateurs speak of tactics and weapons. Professionals speak of logistics. Not that anyone would have listened to him if he reminded them of that. No, they were all far too busy congratulating themselves on how they were going to blow the ignorant natives into next week.

Still, Will had friends out there, and he was concerned for them. He just hoped this thing didn't bugger everything up the arse quite as much as he feared it would.

It was a vain hope, though, and he knew it.

* * *

Flying among the floating mountains, Tsu'tey on one side, Neytiri on the other, Jake could almost fool himself into believing they were just out for a little jaunt. Except they weren't. All around them, hanging on the sides of the mountains and well-camouflaged until the moment of battle, there were _ikran aymakto_, riders from ten different clans, all waiting for his signal, and the moment was fast approaching. They were in the right here; they had the battlefield advantage, as he'd told Trudy last night, but it was gonna be tight.

Guess it was about time he put his money where his mouth was.

* * *

**And with that, we head into the breach. The next three chapters will be battle, and with any luck I'll be able to blaze through them because of that.**

**Now, as for the song Cathy mentioned, "****_Óró, Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile_****" is a well-known Irish song of independance. The tune is the same as "drunken sailor" strangely enough, and the title means "Oro, you are welcome home". Even if you don't understand the words, it's a very stirring song to hear sung, and fitting, I've always thought, for a victory celebration by the Na'vi.**

**Now on to Vocab:**

**_toruk_ - Great Leonopteryx**  
**_uniltaron_ - dream hunt, "vision quest"**  
**_Vitrautral _- Tree of Souls**  
**_ikran makto / ikran aymakto_ - Banshee rider(s)**  
** _kunsìp _- gunship**  
**_Kelutral_ - Hometree**  
**_yawnetu _- beloved person, boy/girlfriend**  
**_makto _- ride, in this case, since it's not part of a colloquial title like "ikran makto" or "toruk makto"**  
**_irayo_ - thank you**  
**_tsaheylu _- the bond**  
**_tsmuke_ - sister**  
**_sawtute _- sky people**  
**_kefyak_ - colloquial ending to a sentence; "right?" or "is it not so?"**  
**_Tsahìk _- spiritual leader**  
**_Nawma Rolyu_ - "high singer"**  
**_Toruk Makto_ - legendary hero of the Na'vi**  
**_Kìyevame_ - "see you soon"**  
**_ikran / ayikran _- banshee(s)**  
**_nantang_ - viperwolf  
**


	39. Chapter 38: Let Slip the Dogs of War

***groans with effort* alright folks, here's the first chapter of the battle, all fought out for you, and indeed it was a battle for me, too! Any complaints for how long this one took can be directed to me, any praise, on the other hand, should be handed over to Liferefined, for it was only through his efforts and encouragement that I managed to get through the battle scenes here and get this out in anything resembling a timelly manner. Hope you enjoy the rest of the scenes, ma 'eylan!**

**As far as the next chapter, it should go much more quickly, as I've gotten quite a bit of it sorted already. I've been writing these three chapters in conjunction with each other, much more like one big long chapter than three shorter ones, so it should be ready in a day or two, all things being equal.**

**Anyway, on with the story, and I hope everyone can follow the action. Just keep in mind, all of this is happening over a relatively short period of time and you should be okay!  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 38: Let Slip the Dogs of War

Even though she should have been relaxing in the lovely hot springs she'd found, or doing a little lazy research, or even just sunning herself, Grace couldn't enjoy the blissful afterlife she'd been given right now. In fact, all she could do at the moment was pace back and forth in the narrow corridor between her sink and her bed (the rest of the house she'd made herself was crammed full of specimens, samples and the crude equipment she'd managed to make to examine it all, so that was the only pacing space left with a clear, straight run) and worry about what was going on back down (up? Kitty-corner? Tesser?) on the surface of Pandora. She knew _something_ was going on, and she just wished there was some way to know what was happening before she found out because someone showed up on her doorstep.

She managed two more turns between the bed and the sink before a hand reached out and stopped her.

"_Mawey, ma 'ite._" Grace looked up to see a kind smile on the face of the Na'vi woman who...wasn't really a Na'vi woman, but Eywa.

"I can't stand it!" Grace bit out, "I need to know what's going on! I need to know they're safe, or if they aren't safe I need to at least know what's going on!"

"It's alright, my daughter, I understand," Eywa said soothingly, "I had planned to wait a little longer before I showed you how to peek in on what happens in the world you have left behind, since it can be tiring and you are still recovering from all that troubled you there, but this, it seems, cannot wait. Come with me, and I will show you how you may know what your children do."

Eywa took Grace by the hand and led her out of her little house and into the woods, and soon Grace realized they were standing in front of a tree that looked very much like the trees the Na'vi called "_utral aymokriyä_", the tree of voices.

* * *

As the massive fleet of Scorpions and Sampsons, led by the Dragon gunship, all entered the Hallelujah Mountains surrounding the Valkyrie shuttle and its precious payload, the mood over the radio was upbeat and jubilant. It looked like they might've gotten the drop on the blue monkeys after all. They were almost within visual range of their target and not one flicker of blue to be seen.

Spencer Davies, the pilot of Scorpion 2H, was feeling almost amused as he listened to the chatter. Maybe they'd manage to keep this down to a minimal casualty strike after all, although he did wish they didn't have to do this in the flux. He fucking hated the way it messed with his instruments, gave him a fucking sick headache. He glanced down at the display, giving it a swat to see if it'd straighten up just a bit, and almost missed seeing what happened to his wingman. He heard a scream - or...a screech? And looked up just in time to see a blazing streak of red fall out of the sky and grab 4P by the tail and throw him into the side of a floating mountain.

And as if that was some kind of signal for the world to fall apart, all of a sudden the sky was writhing with banshees, and gunships were going down all around him.

"All aircraft weapons free! Weapons free!" came the command over the radio, although he'd already flicked his targeting computer on. Looked like they weren't gonna have it so easy after all.

* * *

Sitting on the back of the _pa'li_, Norm could feel its restless feet shifting beneath him, and whether the nervousness was his own or the animal's or both, he really couldn't tell. He was grateful to the horse clans for letting him ride with them, he...somehow he wouldn't have felt right if Trudy was risking herself and all he was doing was sitting back in the camp and hoping for a good outcome. Besides, _someone_ had to be here to coordinate the ground and air forces.

He heard Jake's voice crackle over the radio then and nodded grimly. The Na'vi air force was making its move, time to get the cavalry going. He raised his arm, catching the attention of the riders around him, and then he punched forward, and the command was given.

"_Maktoko!_"

As one the horses and riders leapt forward, the thundering of their hooves echoing in his brain still not loud enough to drown out the war cries of the men and women around him.

Norm brought his machine gun up to his shoulder the way Trudy had showed him, his mouth opening and a surprisingly feral sound emitting from it.

With barely a thought they crossed a small stream and then they were in the thick of things, arrows and bullets flying, and Norm's finger closed over the trigger as he let the adrenaline carry him forward into a self he never would have suspected hid within him.

* * *

As he and Eampin dove into the thick of the battle, his arrows, with the boost of his mount's speed, easily piercing the windows of each _kunsìp _he fired upon, Tsu'tey felt a fierce joy envelop his heart. It felt good to be finally moving against the _sawtute_, and it felt even better to be doing it alongside _Toruk Makto_. Over the past couple of days, Tsu'tey had come to a decision. With all the efforts Jhake had made, he was more than ready to accept the man as Omatikaya despite his background. After all, one could not fault the unfortunate circumstance of his unusual birth, and he had done everything he could to make up for his mistakes, and when it came right down to it, that was all anyone could ask of a man, that he recognized and admitted his mistakes, and worked to make better that which he had wronged.

Truly, he was now glad to call Jhake "brother". With _Toruk Makto_ at their head, the Na'vi could not lose!

He let out a joyful _ìley_ as he drew and fired another arrow, sending yet another _kunsìp_ spiralling down from the sky into the mountains below. They could not lose! The People must be kept safe at all costs!

* * *

Taka frowned to himself as he shouldered his rifle and ducked beneath a branch, following 'Ontu, the young hunter who'd been assigned as his partner for their patrol. He hadn't heard the whole reasoning behind why the boy wasn't flying, but it was obvious in his carriage that he was...less than pleased with the fact.

"_I should be up there,_" 'Ontu growled, "_I should be flying with Toruk Makto, with Jhake! Not down here hidden among the trees where no enemy will ever come!_"

Taka shook his head. He wasn't going to get into that argument, he knew better. Sure, he was old enough to know better than to want to throw his life away - he had a mate now, and a child on the way, but even before that he had grown up enough to know that going down in a blaze of glory didn't do anyone any good - but he could still remember what it was to be a teenager, almost an adult, and wanting to take on the world to rub its face in the mistakes it was making.

"_It...would be good to fly,_" Taka agreed carefully, "_but here we, too, are filling an important duty. If all the warriors took to the air, then while they flew and fought valiantly against the sawtute in their ayhunsìp, there would be no one left to protect the people who do not fight, the singers, the healers, the weavers...all those who support the lives you lead. If it were not for us here, on the ground, the sawtute could slip through the forest and attack those left behind, and the fliers might fly home to emptiness and death._"

'Ontu frowned thoughtfully. "_I...had not considered it that way,_" he said, "_it would be like fending off a flock of ikranay only to discover that your family had been attacked by a pack of nantang while you were in the treetops._"

"_Exactly,_" Taka nodded, breathing a sigh of relief, "_So we must do our duty with care here. We may not fly today, but we walk so that all will wake tomorrow._"

* * *

As she watched the battle begin from her position hidden behind and between two of the larger floating mountains, Trudy frowned. Not from emotion - no, she'd turned that side of herself off the moment her Sampson lifted above the trees - this frown was pure concentration. She was a well-trained Marine combat heli-pilot, after all, and some things, once branded into your flesh and your psyche, never really go away. She knew she was about to fire on men she'd gotten drunk with, men she'd sat around on sleepless nights trading crazy stories with, and she knew she'd feel the regret for it later - if she had a "later" after today - but right now none of that mattered. Right now, she had a job to do, and a friend whose back needed watching, so that was what she was going to do.

A Scorpion neared her position, putting itself right into her line of fire, and she hit the trigger, blowing it out of the sky, just the first of more than she wanted to keep count of. If she hadn't been an ace before today she'd be one by the end of the battle; that was for sure.

* * *

As he and his _toruk_ flung yet another scorpion around like a toy, smashing it into the side of a Sampson, Jake let out a roar of pure visceral pleasure that was echoed by his mount. The sensation of being linked with such a consummate predator as they worked together to decimate their prey/enemies was almost addictive, an adrenaline rush transmitted straight to the brainstem, bypassing all the higher functions.

He snarled as he scanned the sky for more targets - more prey - all six sets of eyes zeroing in on a straggler near the rear of the pack. Yes, that would do nicely. He jinked, rolling to one side and then levelling out, the push and pull of air against his wings bringing him a rushing pleasure as he dropped down over the unsuspecting prey and grasped it with his talons...

And all of a sudden, Jake felt like he'd been dunked head-first into a bucket of ice-water.

_"You're getting in a little too deep there, my boy,"_ the _toruk_ warned him, _"perhaps when the battle is over you can come with me as I hunt, but for now you need to remember how your brain works, not lose yourself in me. You have people to keep an eye on, after all, don't you?"_

"Right, sorry," Jake shook his head, feeling a little sheepish. Still, it had been incredible for those moments when they had become one being, and it reminded him how privileged he really was.

Only for a moment, though, then they saw a scorpion going after Peyral on her familiar cream-and-cyan mount and they were back into the battle, assessing, planning on the fly and taking out threats as they made their way toward the ultimate target, the Valkyrie shuttle and its deadly payload of mine explosives.

* * *

Back at _Vitrautral_, Tom, Ninat, Cathy and Antsu had found themselves a quiet spot and were trying to keep their minds off what was going on, although they couldn't do it entirely. Their sensitive ears could catch the sound of the rotors in the distance, and Tom could feel the echoes of Jake's emotions as he fought.

Ninat reached out and took his hand in hers. "_What do you think?_" she asked softly, "_do the words in that order give us the meaning we wish?_"

"_Pardon?_" Tom blinked, and then realized he'd been wandering in his mind again. "_Sorry,_" he said, and flashed a smile to Cathy, "_what was it you'd suggested?_"

"_Don't worry about it,_" Cathy shook her head, "_Why don't we just sing something else for a little while, to take our minds off things?_"

Tom smiled and shook his head, "_I'm sorry I'm so distracted. I was never this bad when Jake went away when he was in the marines._"

"_The situation is different,_" Ninat patted his hand.

"_And I'm more aware now of what can happen,_" Tom smiled at her, "_but Cathy is right, we should sing. A little distraction is just what we need._"

"_Perhaps,_" Ninat said thoughtfully, "_but I may have even a better suggestion than a song. It occurs to me that you do not yet know what it is to make tsaheylu with the trees. A prayer to Eywa might make all of us feel a little more calm._"

Antsu wrapped an arm around Cathy's waist and pulled his mate against him, "_My sister has a wise suggestion,_" he nodded, "_a prayer is never a bad thing, and it might, indeed, put all our minds at ease._"

Tom leaned over to kiss Ninat's forehead. "_Perhaps we should do that, then,_" he nodded, "_it would be something new to think about, in any case._"

All four of them stood, leaving their instruments to come back to later, and headed through the bowl toward the great tree. They weren't the only ones to think of prayer, clearly, there were many Na'vi sitting at the base of the tree, linked to its boughs, but even so they managed to find a nice quiet, private spot where they could reflect within the bonds of their small family.

* * *

As the battle raged around her, Neytiri narrowed her focus, much like she did on a _talioang_ hunt. Jhake had told her that the most important target was to take out the men in the belly of the largest _tawsìp_ and so that was what she would do. She let Seze take care of the flying, jinking away from the attacks of the smaller _ayhunsìp_ and directed all her attention to the men hiding in the now-open belly. The _tawsìp_ seemed almost to be preparing itself to empty its belly, so she would lead the charge to remove the men so that it could no longer perform its deadly defecation.

She took aim on one of the gunners balancing on the very lip, balanced herself, drew back and loosed her arrow with a harsh cry, feeling a fleeting sense of satisfaction as she saw it pass through the man's belly. She turned away, beginning the manoeuvre to get back into position for another run, and felt Seze's satisfaction echo their own. The battle seemed to be going well, although as she glanced around she could see that there seemed to be fewer _ikran _in the sky than there had been. She tried not to let it concern her too much, however, and concentrated instead on evading the many enemy ships that seemed determined to block her access for a second shot.

* * *

The wait had been interminable. Max had thought he knew the meaning of that word before, but now...now he had a deep, internal understanding of it born through pure, mind-numbing frustration and anxiousness.

Everyone had wandered, in twos and threes and small groups to allay suspicion from the few remaining sec-ops guards who patrolled the corridors, down to the med-lab so that they'd be close to the link-room when the time came. Now they were all here, and it was probably a really good thing that there _weren't_ any sec-ops guards around, because the room all but vibrated visibly with the accumulation of anticipatory anxiety.

Finally the brief, agreed-upon signal came over the handheld radio Max had been resisting the urge to fiddle with and they were on the move. Max grabbed one of the sterile instrument trays and pushed it out the door and down the hall toward the biolab and its adjacent link room, unbelievably glad to finally have an outlet for all his nervous energy. He stopped two panels away from the sliding doors. This should about do.

"Here," he called out, getting Dave's attention, and the two of them lifted the table up, hefting it through the air and shattering the glass wall-panel. Well, now there was glass all over the floor but at least it was safety glass. It'd be easy enough to find someone to clean up the mess later, for now they had a bigger mess to clean.

Nala had hopped through the hole, and Dave right after her, and they used the internal motion detector to open the doors, at which point the whole Science Corps flooded into the room like a...well, like a flood of quick-moving bodies.

"Rogue One, Rogue One!" Max called out over the radio, "Tell Jake we _are_ in motion!" He belted down the short corridor into the link room proper, and started calling out orders. "Power up! Calibrate! Go, go go!"

The cacophony as the techs started shouting to each other would have been nothing but babble to the uninitiated, but they all knew what they were doing, starting with links one, two and four. There was no sense, after all, in trying to get everything going at once and overloading the system, causing a crash. The avatars and their drivers were too precious to risk like that.

"Adam, get over here," Max called one of the bio-techs whose hands weren't needed at this precise moment. He dismantled a rolling screen, pulling the pole from the rollers, and handed it to him. "Barricade the door!" There was, after all, something else Max had to do, now that he'd gotten his people in here. He pulled the door closed behind him as he ducked back out into the corridor, tested it and was pleased when it didn't open. He peered through the tiny window, giving Adam a thumbs-up, and then dashed away toward the outside-access door. Time to go wreak a little havoc!

* * *

Amhul, _Olo'eyktan_ of the _ikran_ people of the eastern sea, was both heartened and dismayed by turns as she watched the fight around her and did what she could herself to aid the People's cause. Certainly when _Toruk Makto_ had come to them and spoken his rallying cry she had been drawn to the cause. His words were good, truly, and after all he _was_ a figure of legend standing before her, only the sixth _Toruk Makto_ ever to fly the skies of _Eywa'eveng_, but, she had thought, his words surely must be exaggeration, at least a little. Surely the situation was not as bad as he said, although her mate at _tsahìk_ had assured her that at least in terms of the echoes of pain heard through _utral aymokriyä_ what they were told of the fate of the Omatikaya's home was indeed true.

Now, though, as she watched her people and the _ikran aymakto_ of other clans falling as they fought desperately to protect _ayVitraya Ramunong_ she knew his words had been true, and she knew that even if she lost her life here alongside so many others, that their sacrifice was what was needed. Eywa would restore the People in time, many children would be born after the deaths of this day, but only if she was protected. It was the place, no it was the _honour_ of the People to protect their mother, and that was what they would do.

* * *

With the sounds of battle echoing back to them from the sky, Louise and Pämeya sat together processing the herbs that had been collected the day before. Even if she didn't precisely plan to become a healer or anything like that, Louise figured it couldn't help to have some practical local knowledge of how the plants were used, whether for food or healing or even ceremonial uses. She laughed a little to herself. Look at her, going all "anthropologist" on herself. Since when had she cared about anything more than how plants grew and interacted with each other? Still...things were changing, and they were changing fast. She could see where things would go if today went to the People - and she couldn't hope that it didn't, for the sake of her baby - she was going to have to learn to live among them, and if that meant learning how to make a productive contribution, then that was what it meant.

"_Here,_" Pämeya handed her another bushel of leaves to be chopped fine before being ground down with mortar and pestle into a thick paste that, when watered down, was a highly effective painkiller. "_We have almost finished this batch; it's lucky you and Newey found such a good supply, I suspect we may have need of it by day's end._"

Louise sighed and shook her head, "_I suspect you're right,_" she agreed as she placed the leaves out on a flat stone and began passing the knife over them. She was about to say more when they were interrupted by a young girl who came running up to them.

"_Pämeya! Pämeya!_" the girl skidded to a stop in front of them, "_Thank Eywa I found you! Txilte says something is wrong with the baby, and I can't find any of the other midwives!_"

Pämeya reached out and took the girl by the shoulders gently. "_Mawey, ma Kamet,_" she said, "_Breathe and gather yourself, then tell me what troubles her._"

"_She says she is cramping, and she's doubled over in pain. She can't even sit up,_" Kamet bit her lip, "_Please, you must come to her!_"

Pämeya glanced over at Louise. "_We will both come,_" she said, "_it is too soon for Txilte's baby to come, but if it __**is **__coming then I will need another set of hands for sure._"

"_What do you need me to bring?_" Louise asked. She should have been concerned that she hadn't been asked but had been "voluntold", but instead she felt honoured that Pämeya trusted her enough to use her as a second set of hands.

Pämeya quickly pointed out all the medicines they might need and the two of them packed them into a carry-basket, and then hurried after Kamet. This day was turning out to be quite different from what Louise had expected, but then, who could predict what any day would bring, let alone a day when the whole rest of the world was dissolving into chaos.

* * *

In the chaos as the battle raged around him, Norm could never remember later just exactly how it was or when that he had been unseated from his _pa'li_ but somehow he ended up on his backside in the mud, still clutching his gun. He scrambled to his feet, firing again and then plunging through the stream, lifting his free hand to his throat-mic. "Jake, Jake do you copy? We're falling back, we're getting hammered!" he exclaimed. He almost couldn't hear Jake's reply over the explosions going off around them. There were bullets whining past his ears, and there were men and _fa'li_ screaming, the sharp "rattattat" of automatic weapons fire and the sudden, alarming "whoosh" of the flamethrowers that were somehow the most disturbing of all.

"Copy, get out of there," Jake replied, the crackle of his voice in Norm's ear sounding frustrated even over the thunderous chaos around him.

This really was going all to hell. Norm felt a sharp burst of heat score the side of his ribs as he turned to fire again, and he almost paused to try to pull himself up onto a riderless _pa'li_ that galloped by him, but he didn't have the skill and he knew it. Even in his much more athletic avatar there was no way Starbright Norman Spellman was going to run alongside a cantering horse of any derivation, grab onto its saddle and pull himself up, not to mention trying to make _tsaheylu_ in the midst of all that, with the brief disorientation that seemed to accompany it.

So Norm put his head down and ran.

* * *

Tom sank to his knees beneath the Tree of Souls, his queue in one hand and a tendril of the tree gently held in the other, and he closed his eyes as he made the connection, truly not knowing what to expect of this.

He took a deep breath and then his eyes opened wide. It was as if he was peering into another dimension, echoes of voices sounded in his ears, and he caught himself glancing around looking for where they might be coming from. They weren't from the people around him, though, he quickly realized that the sounds were being transmitted directly into his brain by his connection to the tree.

"_They're...who are they?_" he asked Ninat in a whisper.

"_They are the voices of our ancestors,_" she smiled, "_the voices of those who have gone before to live within Eywa._"

He felt a wave of amazement and reverence wash through him. He'd known, of course, how important the grove of the Tree of Voices was to the clan, at least in an intellectual sense, but until now he hadn't truly _Seen_ just what it meant.

And then, things got a whole lot weirder. Instead of the disconnected chorus of many, one personality came to the fore.

"_I am happy you're safe,_" the soft female voice said, "_Please tell Ninat not to blame herself. It is not her fault that I was in the wrong place as Kelutral fell._"

"_Ama', is that you?_" he asked silently, hardly knowing what to think.

"_It is I,_" she confirmed, "_I have little time; to speak makes me so tired...please, just tell Ninat I am well, and happy._"

"_I will,_" he whispered, "_I promise, I will._"

* * *

Grace leaned back against the Tree of Voices she was using to watch the battle and bit her lip. She almost didn't want to see what was happening, it was the most terrifying chaotic mess, and not only were people dying in horrible ways on both sides, but the humans were bombing, slashing and burning their way through the forest. Still, it would be worse if she wasn't watching and something happened, so she took a deep breath and looked away from Norm's struggle to check on Jake. Jake, who had done the seemingly-impossible and become _Toruk Makto_ for her...well, okay not just for her, but her injury had been the catalyst to send him off into the air after the largest areal predator in the world.

And that was why she had to watch, had to be witness to what happened today. Some of this was being done for her sake, and if she turned away from their sacrifice, how could she ever face them when they came to her after? Not that she wanted them to, but she greatly feared that at least one of her dear ones would join her here before the day was out.

* * *

Still watching from behind her "sniping post", Trudy winced slightly at the panic she could hear in Norm's voice over the radio. Her heart went out to him, but there was nothing she could do about it right now. The best she could do was to try to stay alive, and hope that he would do the same so that later they could comfort each other and help each other carry the burden of the day.

She could see Jake now, hiding briefly behind the floating mountain next to hers as he directed battle, and she felt a cold wave go through her as she watched the nose of the Dragon clear the edge of his mountain and come into view. Shit. Everything depended on Jake right now, they couldn't afford to have him become a martyr, not when he was the one who'd tamed the mythical flying lizard and got all the Na'vi clans on his side.

She watched him skilfully deeking and jinking, diving to get out of Quaritch's path and she grit her teeth with determination. Time to stop playing Hide and Seek and get her ass in there.

As she pulled a lovely strafing run along the back of the Dragon, Trudy couldn't help but feel an odd yet familiar sense of pleasure. After everything Quaritch had put her through on this damned place since she showed up, it felt pretty damn _good_ to fire on him, really. Stupid warmongering bastard. All she'd wanted to do on this place was have a reason to fly, and maybe enjoy the green a little.

"Oops," she chuckled as she pulled around in front of the Dragon, putting herself between it and Jake as he got out of there and back to what he was _supposed_ to be doing, which was going after the Valkyrie. That was, after all, why he was the one carrying all the grenades.

* * *

When Louise and Pämeya arrived at the quiet corner where Kamet had left Txilte they could hear the woman before they saw her. She was curled up in a hollow between the roots of one of the trees on the edge of the depressed bowl of _ayVitraya Ramunong_. Pämeya frowned at the sounds her patient was making and knelt next to her, reaching out to touch her forehead with careful fingers.

"_We are here, ma Txilte, be calm,_" she said soothingly, "_You will not help your baby if you panic. Tell me what it is you feel and how long it has been happening._"

"_It hurts,_" Txilte whimpered, "_It hurts so very much. My belly cramps around itself and it will not let me rest. It has..._" she broke off with a gasp as she was rocked by another wave of pain, "_it has been troubling me since early this morning, although then it was not so strong. I was able to hide it from Ìstaw when I sent him off but..._" she paused again, "_but it has gotten worse and worse... Please, what is wrong? It is too soon for the baby to be coming, you said it will be one more month at least!_"

"_I expected the baby to wait one more month,_" Pämeya shook her head, "_but it seems that is not the baby's plan._" She turned back to Kamet, who was still hovering around behind her looking worried. "_I need you to continue looking for one or other of the midwives,_" she said, "_I have Luuisì here to help me, but it would be a great comfort to have another pair of trained hands. It would be best, I think, to look where most of the injured are resting._"

"_I will do my best to find them,_" Kamet nodded and dashed off.

"_What can I do?_" Louise asked, moving up beside her.

"_For now, you can hold Txilte so that she can sit up. If you sit behind her and lean her against you, we can get her into a better position for her body to do its work. Txilte,_" she turned her attention back to the prematurely labouring woman, "_for now I want you to rest in the arms of Luuisì and do the breathing we have taught you, I must gather soft mosses and cloths, but I will be back more quickly than you will know._"

"_Please hurry,_" Txilte whispered as she let herself be shifted into a sitting position and leaned back against the _uniltìranyu_ woman on whose face Pämeya could see determination and fear. Good. Louise and she would need both those emotions if they were going to get through this day and have a happy result for Txilte at the end of it all.

* * *

Trudy let her drift bring her around behind the nearest mountain as the Dragon fired on her, waiting to fire again herself when she had a clear avenue. She had to keep Quaritch's attention long enough for the rest of them to take out the shuttle, and she just prayed to whoever might be listening that her luck would hold out long enough to keep her mostly in one piece until that was done. She hadn't wanted to be a martyr - _didn't_ want to be a martyr - but she knew full well what mattered in this battle, and her part was only a small one, after all.

She had a fleeting memory of the night before, as Norm had been painting up her Baby, and she and Jake had been discussing strategy over the guns they were automating so she could use them without needing door gunners.

"How's "Rogue One" suit you for a callsign?" Jake had asked, and she had laughed lightly.

"Suits me well enough, I guess," she'd said, "you got some wild inner geek there, Sully."

"Naw," he'd grinned that boyish grin at her, "just a fondness for the classics."

"Alright then," she'd nodded, "I guess I'm "Rogue One". It rolls off the tongue easy enough."

"It does," Jake had nodded a little more solemnly then, "just make sure you're a Wedge not a Porkins, you hear me?"

She'd never answered that statement. She didn't like to lie to a brother-in-arms, after all.

She shook her head as all the Dragon's missiles missed her; then hit her trigger when her hole between the cluster of mountains appeared.

"You're not the only one with a gun, bitch," she hissed with feral pleasure as she saw her shots impact and the standing figure that had to be Quaritch flinch off to the side. 'Fuck yeah, you otta be scared,' she thought as she gripped the trigger hard and feathered the cyclic with the lightest of touches. She was going to see if she couldn't use the rest of the nearby mountains and get up high enough to really get the drop on the ol' Colonel.

She winced as the concussive blast of a missile impact on one of the smaller mountains to her right threw her unexpectedly back into the window she had so recently used to her advantage...and straight into the path of the Dragon's machine guns. Crap. Forget getting the drop on him, she was gonna have to drop herself if she didn't want to get taken out of the equation completely. If she could just make a landing on one of the mountains without being seen again she could put out any fires and snipe from a stationary position. She really didn't fucking feel like being a martyr today damnit!

* * *

As Nala opened her eyes, back in her Avatar for the first time in days, she sat up slowly, her whole body aching. She slowly went through her sensory-motor exercises, wiggling her toes, touching fingers to thumb, curling and uncurling her tail, and turning her head slowly back and forth. Lying still for so long had not been kind to her avatar's body, and she could feel pressure points that she was sure would develop into bruises, and would have become skin-breakdown if much more time had been spent immobile.

She sat up and looked around, watching the others wake and stretch, and finally, when the tingling was gone from her limbs for the most part, she carefully pulled out the iv tube from her arm (with a wince of pain and a quiet swear word or three when she realized she'd forgotten to grab cotton and a warm trickle of blood was tracing a chaotic pattern down her forearm) and got to her feet. Pressing a hand over the inside of her elbow to stop the bleeding she rummaged around until she found cotton and tape and patched herself up, then headed for the rest of the group, helping each one of them as they sat up. They'd had to link up in waves, so it was a good five minutes before everyone was up and ready to move, but they used the time well with a quick discussion of strategy.

And then it was time to move. Nala, being the remaining zoologist, was the only one with iris-scan access to the avatar armoury, and luckily since they'd been locked out of the link room nobody had thought to bother taking that access away. After all, it wasn't as if someone could manhandle her empty avatar over to the iris scanner and somehow get it - her - into position to unlock the door! She leaned over the scanner and grinned as she heard the familiar whoosh of the doors opening, then stood back as LeJun darted inside and started handing out guns and ammunition to everyone. There wasn't a whole lot to go around, but it was going to have to do, and that was that.

Swiftly and as silently as possible, the now-armed avatars headed across the compound, spreading out and trying to stick close to walls and other cover. The base hadn't been completely abandoned, after all, only _mostly_ emptied of troops and miners in order to maximise the strike force sent into the mountains, and it was a long way around from the avatar compound to the comms-ops tower, their ultimate target.

* * *

Second Lieutenant Jody Nkumo, once of the Tanzania People's Defence Force, looked around him and frowned. He didn't like the way things were going here, and it wasn't just because he'd woken with a headache this morning. He had come to Pandora when he realized that, having been passed over four times for promotion to First Lieutenant, he wasn't going to reach the goals he'd wanted within the TPDF. Having come to that conclusion, the pay and the respect afforded those who fought on Pandora and survived had caught his attention in a big way. The reality of conditions on the inhabited moon of Polyphemus, however, had turned out to be quite different from what he had expected and hoped. Sure, the pay was great, but he'd seen far too many men eaten up by the jungle and the conditions here - some literally! - to retain any illusions about his own chances. He knew that probably the only reason he was still alive was that he'd learned to respect the forest and its beasts. In some ways, they reminded him of the stories of what his homeland had been like two hundred years ago, and the longer he spent here, the more it was starting to seem wrong. He hadn't said anything to the higher-ups, though. Impulsive Jody might be, and occasionally foolish with what he did when he'd been drinking, but he'd never been accused of stupidity, after all.

With the battle echoing around him, Jody looked around at the rest of his squad, and he knew he wasn't alone in his distaste for what was happening here. These people they were fighting..._they_ were the ones who'd been provoked first. The quiet rumours had worked their way through the troops, and most figured it was "just what was needed", that the confrontation was inevitable, but Jody'd never quite agreed with that assessment. Something seemed off about it, and even though he stood now with his squad, firing on their opponents, wounding them, likely killing some of them, he found himself less and less enthusiastic about the whole thing. He'd love to just drop his weapon to the ground and refuse to fight, but that was a thing he had never done in his life, and he wasn't about to try his luck against both forces now. After all, why would any of the Big Blue Folks believe him if he said he was sick of fighting and just wanted to be left alone?

* * *

'Shit!' Neytiri swore to herself, almost unconsciously using one of the Ìnglìsì bad words her mate often used. It didn't look like she was going to get in a second shot at the large _tawsìp_, at least, not quickly. Right now she and Seze were far too busy just trying to stay alive. There was a _kunsìp_ on their tail, spitting out its tiny metal sling-stones, and they couldn't seem to lose it.

Going back to what she knew, what had worked before when trying to escape pursuit, Neytiri urged Seze to drop beneath the canopy where they were more manoeuvrable and the _kunsìp_ much less so. Surely she would lose him in here!

She was glancing over her shoulder at their pursuer when Seze was hit, so she never saw where the shot came from, but she felt it burn through her _ikran_'s chest as though it was her own, and it had to have come from somewhere on the ground.

Seze shrieked, and Neytiri with her, as they tumbled through the air, and Neytiri heard a last _"Sorry. Weregoodpartner"_ come across their link before Seze used the last of her strength to break the bond and throw her off, sending her tumbling across the forest floor.

As she hit the ground, Neytiri screamed.

* * *

**OMG I think that's probably the choppiest thing I've ever written v_v. It was sortof necessary though, to truly convey the chaos that is battle. I just hope everybody managed to follow that without getting totally lost.**

**Anyway, on to the vocab:**

**_mawey_ - calm, "be calm"**  
**_'ite_ - daughter**  
**_utral aymokriyä_ - tree of voices**  
**_pa'li / fa'li_ - direhorse(s)**  
**_maktoko_ - the command to ride, but can also be roughly equivalent to "roger"**  
**_kunsìp / ayhunsìp_ - gunship(s)**  
**_tawtute / sawtute_ - sky person/people**  
**_Toruk Makto_ - legendary hero of the Na'vi**  
**_ìley_ - battle cry**  
**_ikranay_ - forest banshee**  
**_nantang _- viperwolf**  
**_toruk_ - great leonopteryx**  
**_Vitrautral _- the Tree of Souls**  
**_tsaheylu _- the bond**  
**_talioang_ - sturmbeest**  
**_tawsìp _- sky ship, in this case, the Valkyrie shuttle**  
**_Olo'eyktan_ - clan leader**  
**_Eywa'eveng_ - Pandora**  
**_tsahìk _- spiritual leader**  
**_ikran (ay)makto_ - ikran rider(s)**  
**_ayVitraya Ramunong_ - the Well of Souls **  
**_Kelutral _- Hometree**  
**_uniltìranyu _- avatar, "dreamwalker"**  
**_Ìnglìsì_ - English language  
**


	40. Chapter 39: No Plan Survives

**OMG folks! I know you weren't expecting it after how long you had to wait for the last chapter, but HERE'S ANOTHER! Once again a little difficult, as we're into the hardest part of the battle now, but fear not, we only have one real battle-chapter left!**

***collapses* and I've been up all night with this, I was so close to finishing I just wouldn't take a nap and put it off another day. *bows* Hope you all enjoy! (and that there isn't some major error somewhwere eeks!)  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 39: No Plan Survives

Grace shivered as the world exploded again and again, feeling helpless fear as she watched all of her friends - her children, as Mo'at had called them - in danger.

"Your Jake spoke to me last night," Eywa said, and Grace opened her eyes long enough to look over at the all-mother. She'd thought Eywa had left. Well, perhaps she had for a time, but now she was back.

"What did Jake talk to you about?" Grace asked, even in her state of fear and worry her curiosity winning out.

"He spoke to me of the sky people, and how they had damaged their own home, their own mother, to the point of death. He said that if they are not stopped today they will not be stopped, that they will continue to come like a rain that never ends," Eywa shook her head, "and certainly that seems to be what he believes, but I cannot examine his memories in the same way I can yours. Will you tell me...is that truly how you, too, see the people of your birth? As a relentless force that will not heed a warning unless it is hammered into them?"

"Go ahead and look if you want," Grace shrugged, "but he's probably right. Humans are...well, I guess stubborn is the nicest way to put it, and they - we - tend not to like it very much when someone tells us what we can or cannot do...or have.

"Hmm..." Eywa nodded thoughtfully, "yes, I suppose that makes sense. My sister always was a bit stubborn; it would only be natural that she pass that stubbornness along to her children. She - and they also, I would guess - have many good qualities, but as with anything they can be twisted." She smiled then and patted Grace's shoulder, "the decision is made, then," she said, "now do not let me disturb you any longer. You have children to watch over, do you not?"

Grace just nodded and closed her eyes again, not truly wanting to, but unable to ignore the draw of knowing. When you got right down to it, _knowing_ was at the heart of everything, after all. Any scientist worth the title knew that knowledge always trumped ignorance.

* * *

Goddamn that woman! Goddamn her! Quaritch flinched as Captain Chacón's attack shattered the display and punched through the window not inches from his head. She'd been trouble from day one, and he should've grounded her long before now, except that she was just about the only pilot crazy enough to like flying the mountains on a regular basis, and he'd needed her for that. Damn woman was too soft though; had always been soft. She couldn't see beyond the "peace-loving" bullshit Grace had fed her. Just like a woman; fuckin' estrogen fuckin' poisoned their minds; that _had_ to be it. Fuck, it looked like she'd even painted her damn "baby" up in a bad attempt to make it look like a damn banshee.

"Keep her in your sights," he ordered. "Arming all pods." He reached out over the pilot's shoulder, making sure the IFF was disabled (even if it _had_ worked in the flux, which he was pretty sure it didn't) and putting the Dragon's impressive arsenal at his disposal. They fired a volley of missiles along her flight path, practically close enough to see the smirk on her face, but somehow every single one of them missed, hitting vines, mountains and fuck knows what else instead. Goddamn flux!

"That's it!" he snarled in triumph as he saw a line of bullet holes appear across her window and down her tail, hitting one of the fuel tanks. He watched in satisfaction as she disappeared behind a mountain, her crippled Sampson obviously not long for this world. He knew she'd come 'round again, and then he'd take her out. Nice surgical strike. It would be a mercy really. Anyone so obviously sick in the head as her was better off dead, after all, and out of her misery.

* * *

As the soft tones of Ama''s voice faded into the rest of the chorus again, Tom sighed. It just made the loss all the more real, even if, in a way, she still existed and he could be sure of it. She had been a sweet girl with so much promise, and he couldn't help remembering times when they had wrapped their voices together in harmony or as part of the chorus. Now that voice would be forever missing. He knew the other singers would miss her too, but more than that, he knew Ninat still blamed herself. Hopefully she would listen when he told her Ama' had spoken to him, and it would help soothe her mind.

All of this simply amazed Tom. He never would have suspected that for the Na'vi the afterlife was so very, viscerally real, and as he came to that realization, many things about their culture came into a focus that until now they had not, even though he had been totally immersed in the culture for months and had come to begin to adopt it as his own.

"_Great Mother,_" he said softly, "_I..._" He hesitated. His parents hadn't really been religious, although his dad had insisted on holding respect for any belief system, whether Christian, Sikh, Shinto or Aboriginal, but respect didn't really teach you how to pray... "_I thank you for keeping my mate safe when our Hometree fell,_" he said finally, "_and I pray that if possible you might keep my brother safe as he fights for all of us...and you today._"

It was short and to the point, but he figured it was a start, anyway. He shifted back onto his heels, beginning to disengage his queue, and just at the last second he heard what had to be Grace.

"_We both pray for that,_" she said, "_but I figure he's too damn crazy to die._"

Tom leaned in close again, trying to strengthen the connection, but it was gone. He sighed and let his queue drop into his lap. He could still hear the battle overhead, and the closer it got, the stronger he could feel Jake, but somehow he wasn't quite so worried anymore. Grace was right, as always, Jake was too crazy to die!

* * *

As he set up for his run on the belly of the large _tawsìp_, Apxey's eyes followed the magnificent form of Tsu'tey in front of him as the _Olo'eyktan_ leapt from the back of his _ikran _and onto the deck as he shot a deadly arrow, and then slashing out with his bow, decimating the _sawtute_ warriors who guarded their weapon. He was amazing and inspiring to watch, and the sight of him almost made Apxey's heart lift, but only for a moment. Truly, nothing mattered to him any longer but destroying as many of the _sawtute_ as he could before he died. He had neither any hope nor desire to survive this battle, with his Ama' gone there was, after all, nothing for him to come home to. No home to come home to either, the _sawtute_ had stolen both from him in one fell swoop.

As he watched, getting into position for his own attack, Apxey almost thought he was going to have no one left to kill. Tsu'tey swung his bow and yet another _tawtute_ fell to the deck, but just as Apxey sprang up from the back of his _ikran _onto the deck, one of the seemingly endless flow of enemies managed the presence of mind to fire his gun and Tsu'tey fell.

Apxey's arrow pierced the man, but not without cost. The bullets slammed through his chest from side to side, piercing his lungs and then his abdomen as he fell backward onto the deck and then down over the edge and into the air hundreds of feet above the ground. The searing pain of his wounds soon faded though, and as he fell he closed his eyes and almost felt warm comforting arms wrap him in their embrace. It was not so bad, that he might die. No, it was a good thing to go out a hero; it was a good day to die.

After all, there was a little pain at the end when he landed hard on the top of one of the floating mountains, but it was brief and then there was nothing more, just calm, and warmth, and bliss knowing that soon all would be right for him again.

* * *

As she rocked the moaning, labouring Txilte against her chest, trying to help her breathe through each contraction as it came, Louise wracked her brain for anything that might be a distraction. At first she thought of asking the woman to tell her about her mate, about her hopes for the baby, but she quickly realized that wouldn't work. Breathing exercises and talking didn't always go along so very well together, after all.

Instead, Louise had begun to talk. She talked to Txilte about her childhood back on Earth, about her parents who had taken her to places where there were trees - not many, but some - and how that had made her fall in love with plants, wanting to know everything about them, about how they worked and how they lived. She told the story of her first plant, the Venus flytrap that her mother had allowed only because it was functional, and she told about the tomatoes she had grown all through university, how they had made her incredibly popular in the dorm because everyone wanted just one tart fruit for themselves.

She babbled on and on, not sure at times that Txilte even heard her, and it seemed like forever before Pämeya returned, although it had probably only been five minutes at the most.

"_How is she managing?_" the midwife asked, "_Have the times between her pain changed in any way?_"

"_Her contractions are definitely getting closer together,_" Louise nodded, "_They're less than two minutes apart now._"

Pämeya nodded and put the soft cloths she had gathered to one side, building up half the moss into a pad between Txilte's legs. Her fingers made quick work of the soon-to-be-new mother's loincloth and then felt along her stomach. Louise could see the muscles ripple as another contraction hit, and her eyes met Pämeya's, silently asking what to do next.

"_She is very close,_" Pämeya said softly, unsheathing a small, sharp knife from her hip and pouring a liquid from a stone bottle over it. Where the liquid dripped onto the ground it sizzled, and Louise realized it had to be some kind of acid. She stoppered the stone bottle and opened an earthenware jar, reaching in and dusting the knife with something that looked like nothing so much as baking powder. Clearly it was something close, because it fizzed, neutralizing the acid on the blade, and then Pämeya wiped it clean.

"_The baby is early,_" she explained, "_so we will need to help it to be born. The caul will not have thinned as it does when birth comes as expected, so I will need you to hold it steady once Txilte has delivered it so that I may cut it open and free the child inside._"

"_Okay,_" Louise nodded. She didn't quite know what Pämeya was talking about, but she knew it would all make sense eventually. Just holding something was easy enough for her to manage, after all.

* * *

As she tried to get to safety, Trudy soon realized it wasn't an option. From the way her Baby was reacting it was clear that one of the rotor mounts had been compromised. Asymmetric lift, the eternal curse of the tiltrotor, was to be her curse as well. Without the capacity to steer, she couldn't get anywhere to set down, at least, not anywhere that Quaritch couldn't see. There was nothing below her but air until she hit the jungle, and she'd never make it that far. _Damn_ it!

"Rogue One is hit, I'm goin' in," she said over the radio, her voice retaining the outward calm that all true pilots learn early to project, even if inside she was both furious and immensely sad. "Sorry Jake."

She reached down and closed her hand around the eject handle, shut her eyes, and took a deep breath. 'Norm, I love you,' she sent the thought out into the aether, 'please, _please_ don't do anything stupid!'

As soon as she was out of sight behind the biggest mountain her injured baby could be persuaded to drift toward she yanked the handle hard, feeling her head snap back with the harsh positive G's as the escape rockets under her seat fired and the panel over her head blew off, lifting her free of her crippled and dying Sampson. She'd left it to the last minute, though, and that came back to bite her. Just before she passed out from all the blood leaving her head, she felt the fireball of her Baby's final explosion envelop her. 'Shit. That's gonna leave a mark,' was all she could think as the blackness took over.

* * *

Even though he did his best to slow his descent with large leaves, not even the mighty Tsu'tey could make his limbs cooperate through the haze of pain wracking his body. He hit the ground hard, sending another wave of pain shooting through his very bones. He was almost surprised that he was still alive, he'd seen what bullets could do to even the greatest and strongest of warriors...he'd seen what they did to Sylwanin...

He rolled, aching and bleeding, onto his back and closed his eyes, not wanting to face the likelihood of his own death, at least for a moment. He was a great warrior of the Omatikaya, of course, and he would die with pride if it came to that, but for just a little while he let go of that. He didn't feel like being the great warrior right now, he just wanted to be free of the pain.

He breathed as deep as his wounds would allow and let his mind drift. Somehow, the first thing that came to mind was Sylwanin. He remembered how she'd walked, the grace in her every step, and he remembered the way she had smiled at him when they had been promised to each other. They had known each other forever, had known each other inside and out even without having ever made the bond of _tsaheylu_, and he knew that even if she were angry at him for letting himself get injured she would still be proud of him. She would have insisted on tending his every injury with her own hands, even though healing was not her strongest skill.

He remembered how frail and delicate her broken body had looked when he had carried her back to _Kelutral_, and then he couldn't stand to remember any more. He forced his eyes open, feeling hazy from pain and blood-loss, and clutched at his wounds. Sylwanin would never forgive him if he gave up. No matter what, he _had_ to struggle to live, despite how tempting it was to simply give up and join her.

He thought, somehow, that through the delirium of pain he felt someone settle next to him and begin to tend his wounds, their rough, damp cloth cleaning the blood from him and stemming its flow, but he couldn't seem to sort out the person's face.

And then a sense of true exhaustion came over him and he closed his eyes. Best to reserve his strength and let the healer do his or her work, better not be awake to feel it. He would thank them when they were finished and sort out who they were then.

* * *

Dear Goddess Norm almost wished he didn't have the throat-mic receiver in his ear; that he'd never heard what he'd just heard Trudy say. Damnit he'd told her to be careful, Jake had told her to be careful, but when it came down to it what could any of them do? It was a battle, and they were outnumbered and out-gunned and they'd all known it. Still...

He closed his eyes in pain and anger, and all of a sudden he felt something rise from within him. He'd known it was there, had suspected in any case at the outset of the battle, but it hadn't fully made itself known before this moment. Now, though, with nothing to lose, some deep, primal part of him - perhaps a vestige of his mother's Saxon blood or the distant echo of his father's one-eighth Cayuse heritage - brought a red haze over his vision. He would run no longer. Setting his feet firmly on the ground, he crouched over his gun and pulled the trigger, gripping hard, no other thought in his mind but to take as many men with him as he could. If Trudy was... If she... She would have told him not to be stupid, not to risk himself for her sake, but right now he was so furious...

* * *

As Neytiri knelt by the head of her fallen mount, her heart aching with mourning, she was at once aware of nothing and everything around her, the world seeming to slow as it passed around her but did not touch her.

She could see the explosions, although she almost couldn't hear them; she could see men and _fa'li_ being thrown about by the concussive blasts, although they didn't touch her, crouched as she was behind a fallen log. There were flames, and there was smoke and a strange, metal smell that reminded her of the sparks that came when one struck certain stones together. A _pa'li_ galloped by, flames streaming from its crest, maddened with fear and pain...

And then time began again, the pain in her heart turning to anger. She got to her feet, gripping her father's bow and what arrows remained to her, and she turned away from those who retreated, running instead closer to where the _sawtute_ waited. She would take out all that she could.

There was, after all, nowhere that she could run.

* * *

Finally safe and away from the dragon, Jake paused for a moment to breathe. He had seen Trudy come in, creating a distraction, and he didn't know whether to be intensely grateful or lividly furious with her. Damnit, if she got herself hurt and it was his fault Norm was gonna kill him. Truthfully, if she got herself killed and it was his fault, he might just _let_ Norm kill him. Grace had died, and her death was already one death too many, now Trudy... No. He refused to believe that Trudy would be taken from them too.

He heard her last radio transmission and swore. Damnit no, you can't tell me you're sorry, he wanted to say; you aren't forgiven.

Nothing was going the way he'd planned damnit. The Na'vi were being decimated and it was _all his fault._

He raised his hand to his neck, pressing against the throat-mic. "Tsu'tey, brother do you read?" he called out, hoping, "Rogue one, you copy? _Trudy_?" Goddamnit come on! Somebody had to be out there still! They couldn't all be gone! He couldn't be the last of them!

He scanned the skies, desperately seeking a familiar form, but he saw none.

* * *

As the sounds of battle drew closer, Mo'at found herself gazing at the sky overhead, unable or unwilling to look away. She could see the tiny forms of _ayikran_ swarming around the many _ayhunsìp_, and she could see the looming form of the massive _tawsìp_ which threatened their very existence, but from down here it was difficult to get a true idea of what was going on.

Even at this distance though, she could see _ayikran_ falling from the sky, their wings no longer supporting them, their riders falling alongside, and she felt a sick dread in the pit of her stomach. She did not fear death for herself - no _tsahìk_ feared death, truly, only leaving behind those that they loved, and Neytiri was taken care of now, her last obligation - but she feared for her people, not only the Omatikaya, but all Na'vi. The sky people were a virus, an infection which must be cleansed from the body before it could do more damage than the body itself was able to repair. Truly there were some who were benign, and perhaps some would be allowed to stay, if their hearts sang in harmony with the forest, but as for the others...

She shook her head and continued to scan the skies. Was that Jhake on his mighty _toruk_ approaching the _tawsìp_? She couldn't be sure, but she prayed to Eywa to keep him safe.

* * *

In the adrenaline rush of his berserk fury, Norm almost didn't feel the bullets as they passed through his shoulder, but as he slammed back against the ground the red he saw now was not fury but blood from his wounds. His heart was pounding, his shoulder was on fire...and then he was there no longer, the link was broken.

The pain wasn't gone though.

He woke in the link bed, his heart still pounding, covered in cold sweat and with pain radiating from his left shoulder across his chest and down his arm. He pushed up the lid and rolled out, almost _spilled_ out onto the floor, falling against the fridge and the pod in the small space that remained of the floor, only remaining upright by virtue of the fact that there wasn't enough room for him to lie down with the way he'd fallen.

He clutched at his chest, almost out of his mind with the pain, and tried desperately to get himself back under control. If he couldn't link back up then he was going to have to go out there in his own body. Everything was going to shit, it seemed as though they were doomed, and if Trudy... If what he hoped wasn't true had happened, he was going to need the avatar. He...wouldn't want to be human any longer without her to share his nights, his bed, his arms...his heart...

* * *

Max was panting hard by the time he made it to the airlock door that led to the mine equipment hangar. He hadn't run so much in longer than he wanted to think about, and dangit his age and sedentary lifestyle were starting to show. Apparently he wasn't seventeen and a first-flight footie player (or soccer player, for those North American types) anymore. He leaned his hands on his knees, panting hard into the mask of his exopak as he waited for the air to cycle through, and had mostly managed to get his breath back by the time the light went green and the outside door unsealed.

Now to find himself a nice big toy to play with!

He dismissed the "devil machines" out of hand. He'd worked with heavy equipment, sure, but never anything _that_ big; and it wouldn't do any good if he couldn't figure out how to drive the thing in a straight line, after all. His eyes passed over dump trucks and earth movers without anything really catching his attention, until he got to the slash-cutters. They weren't mine equipment per se, but they'd do. They'd definitely do! He could open up comms-ops like a frickin' sardine can with one of those babies!

Now the real question, how to start one. He had some idea of how to hot-wire, but it was all theoretical knowledge, nothing hands-on. Of course, there's no way he would luck out and find out that somebody had left the keys in the ignition... Well, it couldn't hurt to check, he shrugged. At least while he was poking around in there he might get a better look at the wiring.

He had just hauled himself up into the first slash-cutter in the row when he heard someone clear his throat nearby.

"You're looking for this I'd wager,"

Max looked up from the glove box he was rooting through (and why on earth did a slash-cutter need a glove box?) to see a man holding a key dangling from a key-ring decorated with a lion's-head charm. Max wracked his brain trying to remember the man's name, he'd seen him in executive meetings, and he thought he had something to do with running the mining operations, but he just couldn't seem to bring his name to mind. The man continued to smile his sardonic smile and jingled the key ring enticingly.

Max eyed him warily. He didn't seem to be carrying a gun or a knife, or anything other than the key, but...

"How did you know I was here?" he asked, still not getting down from the box of the slash-cutter.

"Heard you go thundering past my room, figured something was up," the man shrugged. "You looking to tell the company to shove along, I figure I might as well let you. It'll be some entertainment in any case."

Max blinked and shook his head. Clearly the man was, if not on his side entirely, at least indifferent, and at this point he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak.

"Entertainment," he laughed slightly, "yeah, I guess it probably would be at that." He held out his hand and the man (his last name started with "K" Max thought, or a "C". A hard "K" sound anyway) lobbed the keychain in a perfect arc toward him, so that all Max had to do was close his fingers around it as it landed in his hands. "Thanks," he said as he settled properly into the seat and turned the key in the ignition, "I'll try to be as entertaining as I possibly can, just for you."

"I'll get my lawn chair," the man - Kater, that was it! - grinned as he offered Max a sardonic grin and a very obviously intentionally sloppy salute.

Max saluted back and then all of his concentration went to the controls. Just like riding a bike, you never really forgot how to run a machine like this, but it always took a minute or two to pull the requisite information up from the depths of storage.

* * *

"Ma Jhake!" The blessed sound of his mate's voice coming over the receiver tucked into his ear made Jake breathe a deep sigh of relief. It didn't last long though.

"I read you," he confirmed then paused, waiting to hear more, "Neytiri?"

"Seze is dead," she whispered in a broken voice, "they are very close, they are many."

Shit. Just...shit!

"Do not attack," he urged her, knowing even as he did that it was futile. "Do you read me Neytiri? Do not attack! Fall back now! Get outta there, that's an order!"

As if she had ever obeyed an order. Neytiri was a wild being, a creature of pure emotion who did as her heart led her, and she would not hear nor heed his orders and he knew it. She might hear his fear for her though, and let it sway her to keep herself safe for his sake. "_Neytiri!_"

The silence on her end was deafening. 'Please, for God's sake, or Eywa's, whoever, just be smart about this!' he thought furiously.

The sound of her voice this time, though, was more blessed than he could ever have hoped. "Jhake," she whispered, "Eywa has heard you." He glanced around and felt his heart lift at what he saw. The skies were literally swarming with riderless banshees, and every one of them was attacking the RDA ships. "Eywa has heard you!" she cried triumphantly, and he knew the burst of joy that filled her heart, remembered what it felt like with the memory of their bond.

"Come on!" he called to _toruk_, swinging around. Time to take the Valkyrie out; time to end this once and for all!

* * *

As they carefully walked their "beat" through the forest, Taka and 'Ontu kept their eyes open and their ears on swivel, but mostly they watched to see what Ama, Tsuki and Sano, who ranged out in front and to either side of them, were doing. Their senses, after all, were far more powerful than even those of an avatar and a full-blooded Na'vi youth, and they would almost inevitably be the first to discover any intruder into their territory.

All of a sudden all three thanator cubs stopped dead in their tracks, their heads up and questing, their sensory quills bristling. Taka signalled to 'Ontu to stop as well, then crept very slowly forward and joined his queue to Tsuki's.

"What is it?" he whispered.

«_Big-tree-momma,_» the cub replied, and even her mental voice seemed to whisper as well, «_she calls to all children, says "time to fight, children! Time to make meat the pink ones, the ones who not like her, not love their mother._»

Taka's eyes went wide. All of a sudden, whether because he knew to seek for it or because of his connection to Tsuki he couldn't' be sure, he became aware of a heaviness in the air, a sense of anticipation, as though something truly epic was about to begin.

«_Big-tree-momma says we three fighting already,_» Tsuki added, «_stay with Daddy and 'Ontu-brotheruncle to protect._»

"Good," Taka nodded, "I'll let 'Ontu know and we'll get back to our patrol." He disconnected from his "daughter" and turned to smile back at his partner for the day. "_The day will be ours,_" he said joyfully, "_Eywa has joined the fight!_"

* * *

As he sat up in his turret, listening to the radio with almost obsessive focus, Will Winram could only count himself lucky. At first the radio chatter had been upbeat, then serious but still encouraging as battle began, then, when it looked like things were turning to the RDA the chatter had become almost mocking, but that had been brief. Now the only thing he heard in the voices of his (former) comrades was panic, and although he felt bad for Steve and Calvin and the rest of the Dragon's crew he was counting himself incredibly lucky that he was back here, that he'd made the decision to stand up, even in a small way, for what he saw to be right.

Something caught his attention just then, a flicker of khaki and blue out of the corner of his eye, and he turned just in time to see the avatars begin sneaking across the compound, heading in the direction of comms-ops. Even though he should by all rights be appalled, he couldn't help but feel a slow grin passing across his face. Looked like the science zoidies, as Chacón had liked to affectionately refer to them, had some guts after all, and were willing to stand up for what was right. Well! He'd have to just see if he couldn't do something to give them a little hand there, now wouldn't he?

He scanned the compound out in front of them, looking for "enemy" targets, and took each one out with a precision strike. He was, after all, a weapon systems officer, he'd been trained to take out targets from much greater altitudes than this!

The avatars shied away at the first couple of shots, but they quickly realize he wasn't shooting at them, and he got a few cheerful waves as they resumed their advance, picking up speed as they trusted him to keep the way free in front of them.

Will had to laugh. It was all so ridiculous somehow, and yet it was the best he'd felt about any kind of action in longer than he wanted to think about, the most free he'd felt since he was a boy.

* * *

As she stuck close on Jhake's tail, Peyral wasn't entirely sure where all the other _ayikran _had come from, but at the same time, she wasn't about to question it. She knew it had to be Eywa's doing, and if the great mother had blessed them with her protection to the extent that she had sent the younger brothers and sisters to their aid, then Peyral could only do her best as well, and right now doing her best meant protecting Jhake's back. Even if she should lose her life in the attempt, she knew it would be a life well spent for a cause and for a man worthy of both her loyalty and her deep, abiding love. He had, after all, pretty well ruined her for any other man, but then, she could hardly blame him. After all, he had been honest with her from the start, it was only _her_ heart that had refused to listen and had deceived her.

Jhake swept low over the back of the giant _tawsìp_, and Peyral followed him there as well. This had been a part of their plan from the beginning, and Peyral remembered what Jhake had said she must do. Her duty here was to ensure that he was able to run to the very front of the beast and loose the thing he called a "_pom_" into its lungs, crippling it and sending it plummeting from the sky.

He had agreed that she would watch his back, but he had made her swear that before he dropped the "_pom_" into its lungs she would leap back to her _ikran_, so she sent her partner the information of their plan and then, as Jhake landed and began to run, she too jumped down, catching herself in a controlled roll and then getting to her feet again and drawing her bow all in one smooth motion.

She managed to take out two of the _tawtute_ warriors on her side before she felt a sharp pain pass through her thigh and lost her footing, tumbling off the side of the _tawsìp_ just as she saw the tiny green "_pom_" disappear into its target.

* * *

As he watched the pack of viperwolves advancing on his troop's position, flowing across the ground like liquid darkness in the middle of the day, Jody Nkumo swore darkly. This wasn't normal. It wasn't fucking normal to have different species all attacking together like this! He'd already seen men taken out by sturmbeest and hammerheads, and somebody on his left flank had been picked off by a forest banshee, just bitten almost in half! They couldn't expect him to actually keep fighting in the face of all this! They were cut off from everyone else and surrounded by animals that could kill them almost without even thinking about it...It was total bullshit!

The worst of it was, nobody had yet had the common sense to call for evac, so they were stuck down here being picked off by the animals...by the fucking forest itself! Jody watched, shaking his head, as another man ran from the viperwolves only to end up impaling himself on one of the nastier examples of Pandoran botany. He shook his head. Enough was bloody enough! He raised his gun, about to charge the viperwolves, who usually respected threat displays, at least in the daytime and if they weren't too hungry, but just then he caught sight of a Na'vi warrior - it looked to be a woman, hiding against a tree. She was striking of course, as all Na'vi are, but that wasn't what caught his attention. All the animals were completely ignoring her. They hadn't gone mad after all, there was some kind of...intelligence directing their actions.

Taking a chance - a crazy chance, but what other kind did he have left? - Jody threw down his gun. "Okay!" he called out to the viperwolves, to the trees, to whoever or whatever was listening, "Okay you were right! Just spare me and my men and we'll leave you in peace."

A viperwolf jumped at him then, and he thought for sure he was dead, and not just dead but stupid as well, but the animal snarled in his face briefly and then jumped off, leaving him without even a scratch.

All the men around him, having seen what happened, started throwing down their weapons as well, and for each man, as soon as he dropped his weapon and shouted an apology he was spared. The waves of beasts parted around him and moved on, heading, no doubt, in the direction of more sec-ops grunts to deal with.

When all the animals were gone, Jody sank to his knees and then just sat on the ground, laughing. Today had been way too fucking crazy, and it wasn't over yet. They still had to get the fuck _out_ of here somehow! Fan-fucking-tastic.

* * *

He was never quite sure just what it was that had alerted him to be in just the right spot to catch her. Whether Ripa, his _ikran_, had caught a glimpse of her, or perhaps he had heard some faint noise that had heralded her arrival, but eventually Mrrket just put it down to Eywa's will that he just happened to be where he most needed to be at that moment. He had run out of arrows, and was flying low, just above the tops of the trees, trying to stay out of the line of sight of any _tawtute_ weapons, when he got the insistent sense that he was needed. He glanced above him just in time to see a warrior slip from the side of the largest _kunsìp_, and almost without any further thought he moved to position himself to catch her. Even then, it was a close thing. She landed across the back of his _ikran_ and he turned in the saddle to pull her in front of him and almost missed one of the small _kunsìp_ turning to fire on them. Thank Eywa for his Ripa, though, she saw the attack coming and ducked down into the trees.

"_Irayo,_" the woman he'd caught turned to look at him, and he was surprised by the look of desperation in her eyes. "_If you will land, I will join the fight on the ground. I am sure my ikran will find me there, if she still lives, and if not I will join those who fight on their feet._"

"_I was going to ayVitrayä Ramunong to stock up on arrows,_" he smiled at her - she was very pretty under the parti-coloured mask of her war paint, "_so I will bring you there._" He shifted his grip on her where she was slipping against his legs and suddenly realized the state she was in. "_You're bleeding_!" he gasped.

"_I will be fine,_" she grated from between clenched teeth, "_I can still fight_."

He shook his head firmly. "_No you won't,_" he said, "_and no, you can't. Not with the amount of blood you're losing. My mother is a healer; I know how much blood a woman can safely loose, and you're bleeding far too hard._"

"_Tsa-hey! Just let me down!_"

She started to struggle, and he almost dropped her, but he managed to hold her - clearly she was already weakening from blood loss - and wrapped one arm around to press on that special spot at the base of her skull in the precise way that his mother had taught him, rendering her unconscious. No doubt she would be angry at him when she woke, but Mrrket had seen enough death today; he wasn't going to let her become one more life lost, not if he could help it.

* * *

Neytiri grinned as she watched the many _angtsik_ and _salioang_ thundered around her, bypassing her with precision and falling upon the _sawtute_ instead. She watched for a moment, catching her breath, and then she ran, joining the attack with a pack of _nantang_, feeling their joy of the hunt as her own.

She paused to loose an arrow with a sharp cry, then froze as she heard a growl off to her right. She slowly turned her head and there, snarling in all its bone-chilling glory, stood a full-grown _palulukan._ She'd grown almost accustomed to the presence of Taka's children, but they were still, after all, young and quite small in comparison to this one. She wasn't sure, at first, that she wasn't staring death in the face, and what irony it would be to survive the death of her _ikran_ and being surrounded by _sawtute_ only to fall prey to a _palulukan_ now.

That was not her fate, however. The _palulukan_ made a soft chirring that she knew from the little ones to be a friendly sound, and it folded its lips back down over its teeth and knelt, the position reminding her of how the babies had reacted to her mother upon first meeting her.

She tilted her head curiously and a slow smile spread across her face. She almost thought...was this an invitation to join with this powerful beast? None had ever been "_Palulukan Makto_" before...but perhaps Eywa had decided it was time.

She stepped carefully forward, tilting her head a little more so that her _tswin_ slid over her shoulder and into her hand, and the _palulukan_ brought its _tswin_ forward as well, and then her smile bloomed into a full grin. A ride would be _more_ than welcome!

* * *

Jake sighed in relief as he landed on the back of his _toruk_ and hurried away from the fatally crippled shuttle. He'd seen someone catch Peyral and disappear below the canopy, and hopefully whoever it was would keep her safe. She'd been practically throwing herself at anyone who threatened him today, and he didn't want to be responsible for her sacrificial death. She was his battle-sister after all, and he loved her like a sister, even if he couldn't love her the way he knew she'd wished.

He both felt and heard the explosion as the left front engine, where he'd thrown the grenade, exploded, and he grinned. Right down to the fucking wire, but he'd done it, and as long as the shuttle kept its forward momentum once it began to fall, it would land well out of the way of the danger zone. He hadn't wanted to risk it falling backward and dropping its deadly cargo out of the open hold, so he'd been very careful to make sure he took out a forward engine. That way it nosed down instead of tilting back and kept its aerodynamics enough for a glide.

He watched as it fell, drifting helplessly into the side of one of those bizarre rock loops and shearing off the damaged wing, dragging it around almost like a kid swinging around the pole on a bus to sit down. Good. It wasn't going to land anywhere near the Tree. Now there was just one last thing to do: he had to take out Quaritch once and for all.

With a mental command he directed his _toruk_ after the dragon. Now this oughtta be fun!

* * *

Dan Hogarth, co-pilot for the shuttle Valkyrie one-six, frowned as he listened with half an ear to Doug, the pilot, giving the excited order to drop their deadly cargo. This whole thing was stupid, as far as he was concerned. They weren't military, had never been military, they were commercial shuttle pilots for goodness sakes! Just glorified flying bus- or lorry-drivers really. No, they weren't military and yet here they were, crammed full of high explosives made into an improvised bomb, scraping through terrain their ship was _never_ designed to negotiate, and not only that, but they were being attacked by giant flipping pterodactyl-things, and he just _knew_ one was going to end up in the air-intake sooner rather than later. The thought of trying to put down with a damaged engine and a massive load of blasting compound was more than enough to make him burst out into a cold sweat.

When he felt the aircraft shudder after a massive blast rocked the left wing, he knew his nightmare was coming to pass. He grit his teeth, swore very quietly to himself and gripped the controls. There was still a chance he could set them down gently enough, there weren't any more of those damn floating mountains in front of them, and if he could just keep them to a glide maybe he could...

And then he saw the archway rise in front of them. He tried to use the right-side engines to turn them, but it was no good, they were just too damned close. There was a horrible screech of metal as the left wing impacted the side of the arch and shear off, and then the Valkyrie nosed-down and he knew it was over. Still gripping the controls in a gesture he knew was futile, he closed his eyes, not wanting to watch the ground come up on them, particularly.

'Sorry,' he thought, although he wasn't sure if he was apologizing to the troops still trapped in the belly of the shuttle or the folks who had just been trying to defend their home or the whole damned planet, 'I never wanted to be a part of this mess, but I did what I was told. Should've just sat the whole thing out.'

Thankfully the darkness took him quickly. He hadn't wanted to feel the heat of the explosion. In the end, that was all he had hoped for; not to burn.

* * *

As the shockwave from the explosion of the Valkyrie passed through _ayVitrayä Ramunong_, Louise barely noticed. She was deeply involved in her own life-or-death struggle and it consumed almost all of her attention. Pämeya had encouraged Txilte up into a squatting position with her hips angled forward, and it was all Louise could do to help the young woman keep her balance as she pushed.

She had been confused and worried at first when the active part of labour truly began, because from her vantage point what was emerging between Txilte's legs didn't look like a baby at all. It was pale and leathery and pinkish, and Louise was terrified that the young woman was somehow turning inside-out, the Na'vi equivalent to the uterus somehow being forced from the body due to the strength of the contractions. Pämeya didn't seem concerned at all, though, and that was reassuring, so Louise had forced herself to calm down and keep Txilte focused. She wouldn't be much help if she hyperventilated and had a panic attack on them, after all.

After a couple more strong pushes, as more and more of the...sac emerged, Louise realized that this must be what Pämeya had meant when she referred to a "_caul_". It almost reminded her of alligator or turtle eggs! Were Na'vi babies born _inside_ their amniotic sac or something? She supposed she was about to find out!

Three more heavy pushes and the entire soft, reptile-egg-like sac was out, and Louise could see the baby inside through its almost-opaque wall. There was something still connecting it to Txilte, and Louise supposed this was the umbilicus and the reason for the sterilized knife, but once again her supposition was wrong. Pämeya brought the knife down, but not to the connection, instead she used it to slice open the sac, spilling out a thick, viscous liquid and freeing the baby from its..._his!_...prison.

"_You must tell him to breathe, Txilte,_" Pämeya urged the new mother, "_he doesn't yet know he is born, show him what he must know._"

Louise couldn't help but take a deep breath along with Txilte, the command almost as suggestive as yawning, and all of a sudden the baby opened his little mouth and breathed as well, letting out a small whimper as Pämeya cleaned his mouth and used the cloths to dry him and swaddle him. There was, Louise saw, something like an umbilical cord, but it seemed to have detached on its own, and somehow the end that had been attached to the outside of the caul had disappeared. Had it retreated back up inside Txilte? She was obviously going to have a lot of questions over the next nine months or so, that was for sure.

"_You have a son, Txilte,_" Pämeya said softly as she laid him on Txilte's chest, "_You and Ìstaw will raise him well I know. He is small now, but he is strong, and will grow only stronger._"

Txilte smiled, clearly exhausted, and stroked her baby boy's head. His hair was still damp, and of course it wasn't braided, and Louise could see the tiny queue bare, a thing she had never seen before.

"_I would like you both to meet my son,_" Txilte said, shifting him so that they could see his face. His eyes were open, deep pools of dusky grey-green, and he yawned as they watched. "_This is my son Tsamut,_" she introduced him, "_who was so eager to become a strong warrior and defend the Omatikaya that he insisted on arriving early._"

Louise had to laugh at that. "_A strong name for a strong boy,_" she agreed. "_I am very happy to meet him after all he put us through._"

* * *

**Okay! So I should definitely put a disclaimer here: this is entirely my interpretation of how Na'vi birth may or may not occur. We aren't given any other information than that it's somewhat similar to a placental mammal but different, and that they nuse their babies for about four months (which I'm taking to mean nurse exclusively, as I'm sure there's some overlap during the transition to other foods) All this information, btw, comes from the "pandorapedia" section in the collectors' edition blu-ray, just in case you were wondering. As far as the "caul", I'm using the English word because there's no way in heck I'm going to make up a na'vi word for something that might not even exist! I have way too much respect for the language and its proper expansion for that!**

**Anway, speaking of language, how about some...**

**Vocab:**

**_tawsìp_ - skyship, in this case referring to the Valkyrie shuttle**  
**_Olo'eyktan_ - clan leader**  
**_ikran / ayikran _- banshee(s)**  
**_tawtute / sawtute _- human(s)**  
**_tsaheylu_ - the bond**  
**_Kelutral_ - Hometree**  
**_kunsìp / ayhunsìp_ - gunship(s)**  
**_tsahìk _- spiritual leader**  
**_toruk _- great Leonopteryx**  
**_Irayo_ - "thank you"**  
**_ayVitrayä Ramunong_ - the Well of Souls**  
**_Tsa-hey!_ - this is an exclamation of warning or frustration roughly equivalent to "crap!" or "Oh hell!"**  
**_angtsik _- hammerhead titanotheres**  
**_salioang _- sturmbeests**  
**_nantang_ - viperwolf**  
**_Palulukan Makto_ - Rider of the Thanator**  
**_tswin_ - queue  
**


	41. Chapter 40: Eywa has Heard You!

**OMG sorry this took so long! In my defence, though, I had most of the chapter worked out and big chunks written before I posted chapters 38 and 39, but when I posted chapter 39 and started to look at it I realized that I was following too closely to the movie storyline in chapter 40 and doing Tom a massive disservice by doing so, which meant I had to scrap what I had worked out and figure out a different plot for this chapter. Everything after this will work just fine the way I had it planned already, so that same problem shouldn't haunt me too much, thank Eywa! I'm pretty happy with what I managed to do here, and I hope all of you will be as well!  
**

**I hope you all enjoy this, the final battle chapter, and do check out the next thing I'm going to post, my next side-story, "Eywa's Grace" only...don't read it until you're done with chapter 40 here, kefyak? ^_~ It sould be eye-opening and (I hope) entertaining, at least, I find it so.  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 40: Eywa has Heard You!

The moment she first made the bond, Neytiri could sense many things, but over them all, she sensed amusement.

«_You are much less skittish than most of the bluepeople,_» he - yes, the _palulukan_ was definitely male, and young - said as she examined him closely to try to work out the best way to arrange herself on his back.

«_Most other Na'vi have never met one of the tìvawmtute who did not want to eat them,_» Neytiri pointed out. It looked as though sitting between his sets of shoulders and ducking her head just behind his crest would work best, so that was what she did. It was not the most comfortable ride given the width of his back, but it would do.

«_You know the name of our People!_» She could hear the surprise and pleasure in his voice, and she chuckled.

«_As I say, you are not the first I have met, although the others are all still quite young,_» she admitted, «_but they corrected me when I used the name my people have for yours._»

«_Then I am glad the Great Treemother sent me to you and not some other blueperson,_» he said with what seemed like a grin in his mental voice, «_but come, we are wasting time that could be better used in making the pink ones who destroy our home into meat. Are they tasty, do you know?_»

«_I have never tried to eat one,_» Neytiri said carefully, «_but I suspect not, as they tend to have many strange things attached to them._»

«_Ah, that is a shame,_» he sighed, «_I may try one, but if they are as foul-tasting as you suggest it might be best to leave them to become food for the forest. It would be fitting, after all._» She could feel his shoulders bunch as he readied himself to move, and flicked her tail with the same impulse as he flicked his to loosen it to better cut through the air. «_Hold on tightly now, Blueperson, I would not want you to fall at the speed my People travel!_»

Neytiri nodded silently and tucked her free right hand just inside the top edge of his upper spiracles, the left holding her bow as she hunkered low over his back, trying to make herself as little resistant to the wind as she could.

He rumbled with pleasure at her efforts not to impede him, and then with a leap and a bound they were off, both of their minds resonating with the pleasure of the hunt.

* * *

As he watched the thick clouds of black smoke lifting from the place where the shuttle had come crashing down, Jake felt a wave of relief pass through him. It was short-lived, though. The major threat had been taken out, but there was still Quaritch in the dragon, and even with the tide of battle turning against him, Jake knew his fellow (not ex-, no such thing) Marine would do everything he could to still, at least in some way, complete the mission he had set for himself. It was what Jake would do, too, after all, and even this long into the battle, he could see the Dragon still had more than enough firepower to do major damage to the Tree if he got close..

He passed behind the loop of rock that arched around the Well of Souls to conceal his approach, then spoke in his mind to his _toruk_.

_"Even if I take down this one, I know he's going to get out somehow, so I'm going to need to get after him on the ground once it goes down,"_ he said, _"Once you drop me off, you can have fun however you want with the rest of the Scorpions and Sampsons. I'll meet you again when the battle is done."_

_"Just be sure you stay in one piece for that mate of yours,"_ the _toruk_ said, amusement in her voice as they dove in at a steep angle over the back of the Dragon.

_"You too,"_ he thought with affection before breaking the bond and leaping down onto the back of the "beast" he was about to take out, rolling on contact to minimize the impact and grabbing the last pair of grenades as he ran along the flat steel-and-composite frame heading for the front rotors.

He paused just before he reached the cockpit, but just as he'd lobbed the grenades, the Dragon banked hard, sending him sliding along and off the back. He only barely managed to catch hold of one of the missiles on the right side of the ship as he fell, and he swore internally. Damnit those were his last two grenades! Now what was he gonna... But then the entire ship was rocked by an explosion, and he grinned through the grimace as he clung on for dear life. Clearly at least one of the grenades had still been close enough to do some damage.

He struggled to haul himself up onto the missile platform and cursed as the right-hand missile came off in his hand. Only briefly, though, then a feral grin slipped over his features as he realized what had happened. He now had another weapon, and a much more powerful one as well! He swung up onto the platform and prepared to toss the missile into the rotor housing. He had to duck backward and let himself fall as Quaritch popped his little head out of a hatch and fired on him, but the hit was a success. As he fell he could feel the explosion as missile and rotor impacted and the inevitable occurred.

The first part of his final mission completed, Jake concentrated on his fall, looking, while in the air, for a tree with the right kind of leaves, the way Neytiri had taught him. He only hoped he made a somewhat more dignified landing this time.

* * *

As he did his best to clean Large Brother's wounds, the special compounds in his saliva stemming the flow of blood, Pack Leader was intensely aware of their surroundings. There were many others and many of the enemy pink ones still around them, and the situation was not safe. Once he was sure that the bleeding had slowed enough, he wedged his body under Large Brother's body, draping it across his back and gripping the legs with his forepaws, the same way as he would carry prey home to his pups. There was a secondary den nearby, and its dark, hidden entrance would be more than enough to keep Large Brother safe until he could heal.

He almost tangled his legs in Large Brother's more than once, but he simply growled with frustration and kept going. When they reached the den he turned and backed in, crouching to get them both through the small entrance and then straightening up. There was a cozy nest of dried leaves and grasses in a side alcove, and that was where he set Large Brother, carefully arranging him so that he had access to all of the wounds. Moving him had started them bleeding again, and Pack Leader didn't want him losing any more blood. He didn't like seeing Large Brother so hurt, it wasn't right.

When the rest of the pack was done with the hunt TreeMother had sent them on, all of them would find him and Large Brother, and with their help he was sure that they would be able to care for Large Brother until he was well again, but for now they just had to hunker down and stay safe, and "safe" meant "not bleeding" so he busily got to work again with his tongue, lovingly caring for the one who had saved him as a pup.

* * *

Now that the birth itself was done, and both mother and baby were healthy and beginning to learn that most important bonding ritual of nursing, all that was left for them to do was to clean up. For Pämeya and Txilte that was relatively easy, just a few damp cloths were more than enough to clear off the residues of amniotic liquid, and Pämeya had tucked the loose end of her loincloth up out of the way, so it was still clean and had not dangled into the mess of fluid and moss she'd ended up kneeling in

Louise, however, was not so lucky. She'd been wearing long, loose khaki pants and a tank top, and the pants had turned out to be quite...absorbent. Even if they'd had zip-off legs that would have left her with shorts it wouldn't have done any good, she was thoroughly soaked from the waist down in things she didn't really want to contemplate. Her top wasn't much better off, either. Not because she'd somehow laid down in the remains of the birthing but because she'd been holding another woman - a labouring woman - close against her own chest for the better part of half an hour by the time all was said and done, and they'd both ended up quite sweaty. Frankly, the native dress, or lack thereof, was making more and more sense to her the more time she spent among the Omatikaya. For a place that was so warm and humid, it really did seem much more logical, and really, when you thought about it, it wasn't that much different from a bikini. Well...maybe the kind of bikini you'd wear in one of those European places where it was okay for women to swim topless...

She looked down at her pants with a sigh, then stood and stripped them off. At least she didn't usually go commando, but... She made a face. Her panties were no better.

"_I'm sorry,_" she smiled apologetically at Pämeya, "_I think I'm going to need to borrow something to wear. It looks as though these clothes are all going to have to be cleaned before I can wear them again, and it wouldn't do to be walking around without anything on at all._"

"_You uniltìranyu wear far too much over your bodies for such a place as this,_" Txilte tilted her head curiously, "_Why bother with the loose leggings when already you have covered your private area? And why bother with the coverings for your private area if already you have leggings that cover it also?_"

"_It is not so warm and wet where we come from,_" Louise shrugged, "_and also the_ pants_ help protect our skin when we walk in the forest, but I suppose mostly it is tradition. I am lucky, really. In the time of my ancestors it was...not accepted for women to wear any garment that split between their legs._"

"_Sawtute are very strange,_" Txilte sighed, stroking her son's soft hair as he fell asleep at the breast.

"_I will find something for you to wear, do not fear,_" Pämeya smiled.

"_Thank you,_" Louise blushed, "_I would really appreciate that._" It would be native clothing, she knew, but it would be better than nothing. Hopefully she could find somewhere to get her own stuff clean quickly so that she didn't have to walk around with her butt hanging out for too long.

* * *

The litany of swear words running through the head of Miles Quaritch would, if released, have turned the air as blue as any of those damned blue monkeys that he and his troops were up against. Not only had they lost the shuttle and its payload - and not even anywhere that it might have fulfilled the deadly purpose it had been intended for - but now his Dragon, too, was fatally crippled and on its way down out of the sky quickly.

Ignoring, for the moment, the fact that his right sleeve was on fire, he bit down hard to keep from losing what air he had left after his unintended exhalation during the explosion and dropped back down into the cargo bay, swinging with some effort into his AMP suit and initiating the startup sequences as quickly as humanly possible. The Dragon was a write-off and he knew it, but that didn't mean he was going down with the ship. No, not him. He was gonna find that damn blue traitor Sully and he was going to give him a beat-down lesson the boy wouldn't soon forget!

Once the cockpit was sealed he finally took the time to bat out the flames on his shoulder - that would probably leave another scar and it'd hurt like a sumbitch later when the adrenaline left his system - then grabbed his gun and hit the lever to open the hatch. No time to hook up to a winch, he'd just have to jump for it and hope that the AMP suit's hip joints could handle the strain.

* * *

Even with her attention directed in ten or more different directions watching the battle, Eywa noticed almost immediately when something strange fell into the upper branches of her Great Tree. She thought at first that it was just a bit of debris from the battle overhead, which was beginning to die down as more and more of the _tawtute_ vehicles were pulled from the sky and sent crashing to their fiery ends, but even though this was obviously something human-made there was more to it than just...

Ah, yes, she smiled to herself, that was it. It wasn't just debris, it was a small, struggling living thing. Pulling more of her focus in, she directed a few of the _atokirina'_ to examine the being, to determine whether she ought to attract the attention of one of her children to save it or whether she ought just to put it out of its misery, but...no, she shook her head, this wasn't just any fallen combatant, it was a _tawtute_, and not just any _tawtute_ either, it was one she recognized from the memories of Jake and Grace that she had examined, and the poor thing was quite injured. Perhaps, though...hmm...

It was worth a try, she decided, although she would have to pick Grace's mind a bit to sort out exactly how she might manage this child of her sister. She was unfamiliar, after all, with just how they were put together, and she wouldn't want to make any mistakes. With a gentle command, she caused her Great Tree to send out neural tendrils, surrounding the _tawtute_ and monitoring to ensure that life was sustained until she could consult with Grace. Which would have to wait just a short while, for she would not move on this until the battle was done and she was sure her attention could be put entirely on this new project.

* * *

As he landed with his precious burden, Mrrket looked around him and frowned. He knew there were healers here, but his people's encampment had been on the rim of the bowl, not within its center, and he hadn't been shown where exactly the healers _were_. he shifted the girl (he didn't even know her _name_ yet, or what tribe she was born to or anything else about her, but for now that didn't matter) so that her arms were over his shoulders, which let him keep one hand between her legs to both hold her up and keep pressure on her wound as he dismounted and made his way quickly in amongst the people gathered at the base of _Vitrautral_.

There were a number of exclamations as people saw him, no doubt because he was carrying a bleeding woman, but one of those who saw him ran up to him, a woman with elaborate necklaces, he realized as he looked a little closer, and she put a hand to his arm to halt him.

"_Where are you taking Peyral?_" she asked, her eyes wide.

Peyral. Ah, that must be the beauty's name. "_I was hoping to bring her to the healers,_" he said, "_but I do not know where they are._"

"_I know,_" the woman nodded, turning to look at one of the males nearby. "_I must take them to the healers, ma yawne,_" she said, frowning.

"_Of course you must,_" her man nodded, "_I'll be right here waiting for you to get back._"

"_Alright then,_" she flashed a brief, worried smile back to Mrrket, "_follow me._" She took off at a quick jog, and Mrrket followed, doing his best not to jostle his precious burden...not to jostle _Peyral_, he repeated her name to himself. Even her name was beautiful! It would roll off the tongue wonderfully, he thought as his eyes stayed focused on the tail of his guide as she wove them between encampments of people, heading for the area closest to _Vitrautral_.

His hand was starting to ache from holding it so tightly against Peyral's wound, but he would have held it longer if he had to. Blessedly, though, it wasn't necessary. He suddenly realized that his guide had stopped and that they were standing in the midst of an area of healing and someone had taken hold of his arm.

"_We have bound above the wound,_" a sweet, grandmotherly-looking woman said, "_you may set our tsmuke down now. Here there is a bed of soft moss for her._"

"_Irayo, ma Sa'nu,_" he nodded, carefully crouching to set her down. His legs and hand were sticky with her blood but he didn't care. He wasn't going to move until he knew for sure that she would be alright.

"_I am called Tsenu,_" the healer said absently as she ran her hands quickly and efficiently over Peyral's body to check for other injuries. "_Did you see what happened to her and how much blood she lost before you reached her? I do not like that she sleeps, it speaks to more blood loss than it would seem from what you and she wear._"

"_Oh! She sleeps because I used the sleeping-point on her,_" he shook his head, "_I caught her as she fell from the sky, and this blood that you see is most of what she lost. The rest decorates the back of my ikran although I do not doubt she will soon cleanse herself of it. My mother is a healer and taught me enough to know that I had to bring her to you, but she was...unwilling to so easily give up the fight, so I was forced to take drastic measures to keep her with me on my ikran,_" he admitted.

"_Ah,_" Tsenu nodded, "_yes, that would be our Peyral. It is not easy for her to realize when she should rest herself, especially when she is defending those she loves. Perhaps it would be best if you wait here with her. She is likely to be...unruly when she wakes and finds I have forbidden her from returning to battle, and I am but an old healer woman, I do not have the strength to hold her._"

"_Of course I will wait,_" Mrrket nodded, "_It would do little good if I caught her and brought her here to be healed, only to have her run back to the battle again before she is well!_"

"_I will wait also,_" the young woman who had guided him to the healers nodded, "_I can perhaps scold her and remind her of her other duties to the clan besides fighting and dying for us. Especially now._"

Mrrket hardly noticed the evaluating glance the young woman gave him, though. His mind was much more focused in watching the healers work to clean and explore Peyral's wound before they began to carefully seal it.

* * *

At least, Jake thought to himself as he rolled to a stop on the forest floor, he'd managed to hit most of the big leaves square-on this time, rather than getting tangled in vines and other things and flipped around as he fell. He was getting better at this. Heck, a few years from now he might even look as graceful as Neytiri. Hmm...Or maybe not, he chuckled to himself, there were some things a guy was just never meant to be, and graceful was one of them. At least, as far as he was concerned.

He rolled to his feet and ran a few steps, then gazed overhead to see the massive, burning hulk of the Dragon making its critically crippled way down from the sky. It was drifting in the direction that Jake was pretty sure held the link-mod, and that could be a very, very bad thing. Pausing just long enough to put himself to rights, he took off at a steady lope, heading for where the dragon looked most likely to crash-land. There was no way that, given the amount of time he had before the end came, Quaritch wouldn't have ditched somehow, and Jake knew that he still had one, final duty before the battle was over - he had to take the Colonel out, once and for all.

* * *

As Norm stormed through the thick brush on the forest floor, he could still feel the pain of the shots across his chest and down his left arm - the shoulder in which his avatar had been shot - but he couldn't focus on it. No, his only focus right now was to get to his avatar as fast as he could, to make sure that it stayed in one piece. He was beginning to reach the edge of the battle zone, and he'd run into a few retreating Na'vi here and there, and actually been challenged a couple of times, but he'd called out to them in their own language, telling them he was _uniltìranyu_, and they had let him pass. The one who stopped him fourth actually recognized him, though, and Norm recognized him in turn. It was Mo'met, one of the young men who had first invited him to ride with them.

"_Why do you wear this strange tawtute body, Norrmspellman?_" he asked, "_it is dangerous to be among the people looking like one of the enemy._"

"_My uniltìrantokx has been injured, and I cannot wear it until its pain is less,_" Norm explained, "_I am out here in this body because I need to find it and keep it safe, if it has not already been killed by some tawtute vrrtep._"

"_Pxasìk! It is not right that you should be without the body that lets you live among the People!_" Mo'met swore, "_Come, ride with me, I will keep you safe and get you more quickly to the place where your proper body rests so that you may make it safe until you can dream yourself into it again._"

"_I would be forever grateful for your help in this matter,_" Norm nodded politely.

"_Then come, my pa'li managed to escape with me, and she is this way. You need not fear that we will be attacked,_" Mo'met added with a grin, "_Eywa has come to our defence!_"

* * *

As they ran together, their minds closely linked, Neytiri couldn't help but wonder at the complexity of the adult _palulukan_'s thoughts. It had been obvious talking to Taka's children that _palulukan_ were different from most of the "younger brothers", the animals, but her new connection just made that difference all the more obvious. He was not merely a highly efficient killing machine - although he _was_ that - but he was also a being with a wicked sense of humour and some very strong morals...even if some of them made her just a little edgy to think too deeply on. His response to her memories of the fall of her home, for example, was sympathetic, but also derisive of the _sawtute_ for "wasting so much good meat". To the _palulukan_, killing was for the purpose of eating, unless it was for the purpose of defence of territory, and even then, they did not kill one another in territorial disputes unless driven by absolute desperation. The strangest part, to her (although from a certain angle she could understand it) was that when one of these territorial killings occurred, it was considered "only good manners" to eat the loser. After all, he had put all his effort into staying alive, and it would be disrespectful to allow him to rot and be "eaten by the forest" unless he had been very sick.

All of a sudden, her new partner shuddered to a stop, all six legs planting themselves so firmly that Neytiri almost went over his head, and turned sharply to the left.

«_What's the matter?_» she asked, surprised at his change of direction.

«_The Great Treemother says there is one in danger,_» he said, «_that your mate is in need of you, and that I am to carry you to where he sleeps._»

"Jhake?" Neytiri said, too startled to keep her conversation within her mind, «_He is in danger? What's wrong?_»

«_She did not say, only that we must get there quickly,_» The _palulukan_ huffed, «_so you had better hold on tightly. Now we will __**truly**__ run!_»

Neytiri hunkered down close and they took off, their speed remarkable as he seemed to almost flow over the ground, taking the path of least resistance in as straight a line as they could manage back toward _ayVitraya Ramunong_.

There was silence between them at first, as he concentrated intensely, but once he'd settled into something of a rhythm of running he relaxed enough that she began to hear his voice in her mind once again.

«_I had not realized you were mated,_» he said, and she felt his lowered sensory quills play across her back, «_although I do smell/sense a male's scent from you, so I suppose it should not surprise me. Do Bluepeople also take only one mate?_»

«_We do,_» Neytiri smiled a little as she thought of Jhake, «_and I am only recently mated so perhaps that was why you couldn't tell._»

That got her an amused reaction. If he'd been one of the People, she thought, he would have been laughing just then. «_Thank you for the excuse,_» he said, «_but no, I should have known. I suppose I just didn't think about it._»

«_Do you have a mate?_» Neytiri asked, politely turning the conversation from his small misstep.

«_Me?_» He honestly sounded surprised, then he made a chortling sound as he ran, «_I am still a little too young, but there is one female whose scent/sense I follow closely where our territories overlap. Perhaps in another season I may try to convince her we would be well-matched and that our territories would be more efficient for hunting if they were combined. I will have to chose my timing carefully though, and bring plenty of food-gifts. She is __**most**__ fierce!_»

Neytiri was given a mental sense-picture of another _palulukan_, this one slightly smaller than the one she was presently partnered with, also young and smelling of robust health.

«_To be mated is a wonderful thing,_» she said, «_I wish you the Great Mother's blessing in your mating quest, whenever you chose to undertake it._»

«_I thank you,_» he said politely, then he began to slow just a little, his passage through the forest becoming totally silent. «_We draw close,_» he warned, «_you must be ready!_»

* * *

Tom frowned. Something wasn't right, he knew it wasn't right! He could feel Jake's emotions now far stronger than he had before, clearly, Jake must be closer to them, and something was making Jake worry, no, more than worry, there was an edge of panic in the emotions Tom knew had to be coming from his brother. He looked around, trying to figure out where such emotions could be coming from, and that was when he saw it, just the last corner of the Dragon, burning as it slipped out of the sky, and, more concerning, the figure of an AMP suit dropping out of its belly.

Quaritch. It _had_ to be Quaritch, and from where the ship had gone down, Tom knew it was close to the link-mod! He'd promised Ninat he would stay safe, that he would be waiting here for her when she got back from showing that _Ikran_ clan hunter where to take the injured Peyral, but none of that would matter if Quaritch got to the link-mod unchallenged, and he knew Jake must be too far away to get there in time.

"I have to go," he said to Cathy and Antsu, "I...Quaritch is almost at the link-mod," he explained quickly. Only half an explanation, but the wide-eyed expression on Cathy's face told him she understood just how dangerous the situation was. "Jake's on his way, but somebody has to delay Quaritch long enough for him to get there, and it looks like that's going to have to be me."

Antsu frowned and looked at Cathy, then nodded. "_I understand,_" he said, "_but if you are hurt, then my sister's scolding will seem like a blessing when the rest of us are through with you._"

Tom grinned. "_I know,_" he said, "_but that just means I'll have to make sure to stay in one piece. I just have to keep him distracted a little while, after all._"

"_Then take these,_" Antsu handed him bolas that were lying nearby. Tom wasn't sure who they belonged to, but he nodded. They would come in handy for sure, especially since he didn't have any other weapons at the moment. There hadn't been any need to leave him a gun besides the one inside the link-mod, after all. He was almost surprised Antsu had remembered the conversation they'd had one evening about some of the other cultures Tom had studied, and the fact that Tom had mentioned then that he'd learned how to use bolas from a Polynesian dancer.

"Thanks," Tom gripped his brother-in-law's hand hard, then got to his feet, the bolas dangling carefully from his right hand, and ran off quickly in the direction of the link-mod.

* * *

As Jody Nkumo looked around at the rather ragtag remnants of his troop he tried to keep his spirits up (and thus theirs as well) but it wasn't easy. They were clearly lost in the middle of the Pandoran jungle, and it wasn't likely that there would be rescue coming anytime soon. All they could do was keep moving and hope to God they were going in the right direction and that someone would find them. Well, someone who was inclined to listen before shooting and who understood enough English to know what "we surrender" means.

All of a sudden the air was filled with a low, chittering sound that almost reminded Jody of the buzzing of cicadas. It seemed to enter the whole body and discombobulate the brain. He looked around, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from, and saw three heads poking out from the bushes. Jody tried to figure out what they were, but even though the shape looked familiar he just couldn't get his mind wrapped around where he might have seen them before. Certainly not in the jungle itself, maybe a picture?

He was too busy trying to push through the mud in his brain to notice when one of the heads disappeared back into the jungle, but he certainly noticed when it came back, because the chittering stopped abruptly and a pair of Na'vi stepped into the clearing behind it. No, he realized, not two Na'vi, but a Na'vi and an avatar. Thank whatever gods were listening!

"We surrender! We surrender!" he said, quickly raising his hands above his head. "We're unarmed, just get us the hell out of here!"

The rest of the troop quickly followed suit, and the avatar chuckled, then said something in rapid-fire Na'vi to the native before turning back to Jody. "You're the one in charge here?" he asked.

"I am," Jody nodded, "Second Lieutenant Jody Nkumo, formerly of the Tanzania People's Defence Force, and wishing I'd never bothered with the damned RDA," he said, "Can you get us out of here somehow? All we want right now is to get back to the base."

"I can't make any promises," the avatar shook his head, "but if Eywa has already spared you then I'll do my best to convince Jake to send you back. For now, though, you'd better come with me. We'll set you up in a little internment camp and at least feed you until Jake can find the time to deal with you."

Jody nodded. He knew how these kind of things worked, you didn't make promises the commander might disagree with, and at least they would feed him and his men...er...troops. Collins was always so tetchy about it when he referred to her as one of his "men". "I understand," he said to the avatar, "right now we'd just be glad to have a safe place to sit down."

"That I can get you," the man smiled. "Sano," he said, looking down at the animal... Jody's eyes widened as he suddenly made the connection. The animals that had surrounded them were _thanators_! Obviously not full-grown, but still... "You and the girls make sure all these folks stay together, we're heading back to the tree."

The little thanator made a grumbly sort of noise and loped over to where the other two were now entering the clearing fully, and then Jody indicated to everyone that they were on the move. At least, he thought, they were safe from the rest of the jungle now. Nothing would dare attack three thanators, not even if they _were_ babies!

* * *

Tom could hear Quaritch before he saw him, the creaking, squeaking joints of his AMP suit standing out among the more natural sounds of the forest around him, and this was what gave him probably the only advantage he had. He'd attached a long line to the handle of the bolas, and he knew that he had to make this throw carefully and correctly, or he was going to be out of the fight before it even started. He climbed up into a tree just on the edge of the clearing where the link-mod had been set, positioning himself on a footpath-wide branch near the trunk, and crouched down, beginning to swing the bolas.

He watched as Quaritch approached, and it was obvious the man hadn't noticed him yet. All his attention was on the link-mod, and he raised his gun toward it, no doubt figuring he could take out his main opponent with much less trouble this way.

Tom bit down on the automatic impulse to announce himself. Mom had taught them that in a fair fight it was only polite to announce yourself to your opponent, but in an unfair fight, it was more than alright to just attack first, to make the first move and take the advantage back in any way you could. He continued to swing the bolas as he got to his feet, then loosed them, grinning with pleasure as he watched them wrap around the gun. Wrapping the line around his hands as the startled Quaritch began to turn in his direction, he leapt backward off the branch, using it as a simple pulley to use his weight to yank the gun up and out of Quaritch's grip. Even better, as he landed in a low crouch he watched the gun flip upward as its momentum changed, smashing into the iron-hard trunk of the tree and falling to the ground, shattered.

"Well well well, if it isn't the _other_ Sully," Quaritch growled, "come to disgrace your mother's memory again, boy?"

"No," Tom hissed, "I've come to honour it by taking out a piece of trash that's littering this planet." He gripped a loose rock that he'd noticed as he landed and stood. He knew he was going to have to keep taking the offensive if he was to delay Quaritch enough - and honestly, that's all he was doing here really, delaying the Colonel long enough for Jake to arrive - so with a harsh cry he ran forward, rock in hand, and vaulted up the body of the AMP suit, crouching on top and using the rock and all his strength to try to shatter the windshield.

'Come on, Jake, come on!' he chanted silently as he bashed at one side of the plex and then the other, ducking under Quaritch's giant metal hands again and again as the Colonel tried to throw him off.

He'd gotten in a few good hits, but the plex still wasn't shattering, when he all of a sudden felt what seemed like a lash of fire travel across his back and then he was being hurtled through the air toward the very tree he'd jumped down from. The impact must have knocked his avatar unconscious, because the next thing he was aware of was that he was awake inside his link bed. He briefly tried to force his consciousness back into the avatar, but the groggy/pain/ache feeling was more than his mind was willing to put up with, and he was immediately shunted back to the link bed again. Shit! It looked like he was going to have to do this in human form somehow.

He threw back the lid of the link unit and sat up, looking around quickly for anything he could use. he could see that Norm's bed was empty, and he worried briefly for his friend's health and well-being, but then he noted that one of the guns that had been left here for them was gone as well, and he knew that at least Norm wasn't out there unarmed. He hopped down out of the link bed and picked up the gun, slinging it crossways over his back so that he could grip the strap with his sling-hindered right arm, and opened the door to the back airlock. If he could get outside and get into a good position, he might just be able to take Quaritch out before he caused too much more damage, although Tom _was_ very worried for his avatar. Only for a moment, though. Just as he was about to close the door and start the air exchange cycle, he heard Jake's voice ring out through the clearing.

"Give it up, Quaritch!" he heard his brother say, and Tom knew that with his usual impeccable timing, Jake had gotten there just at the right moment. Now all that was left was for the brothers to tag-team and take Quaritch out!

As the hiss of the air exchange stopped, the outer door unlatched with a heavy clunk, and Tom hurried outside. He figured his best bet was to see if he couldn't get up on top of the link-mod; from there he ought to have a clear shot. There was a ladder of sorts, but the rungs were very widely spaced, and Tom only had one really usable hand. Still, you do what you have to. Moving as fast as he could, Tom struggled to make the climb. He had to do this! Jake and everyone else were counting on him!

* * *

As he sat in the cab of the slash-cutter approaching the comms-ops tower, Max could see people running around like little ants. Whatever it was they were doing they clearly hadn't noticed him yet, and that was just perfect as far as he was concerned. They could stay busy as long as they wanted, they'd know he was there soon enough, when he sliced open the top of the place like a tin can!

He remembered Jaime had said his station was on the right-hand side of the room, so he made sure to head for the left-hand side (his right) as he drew in close. Ah. Now they'd started to notice. Too late, but they'd started to notice. He saw Selfridge standing in the window and raised a hand in the universal single-finger salute as he raised the arm of the slash-cutter. Time to do a little re-decorating!

The guards on the outside balcony dove for cover, although they kept their guns with them. It worried Max momentarily, but then he saw the first of the Avatars come running over, gun raised. Perfect timing! The screech of metal meeting metal was the sweetest song he'd ever heard as the rotating head of the slash-cutter sliced through the roof of the comms-ops tower, opening it up like a cheap tin can, and Max couldn't help laughing. This really was ridiculously cathartic! "Take that for all your grandstanding, you pernicious little weasel!" he chuckled as he opened up a gap big enough to drive through in the front bank of windows. He didn't want to actually kill anyone in there, of course, but he knew they were all well-trained, they'd have their exopaks and emergency rebreathers close at hand, and they'd be far too busy fussing with getting those on to concentrate on anything else, which would give the avatars time to get in there and make sure everyone was contained.

And there went the avatars, scaling the side of the building like it was just another climbing wall. Max felt a brief twinge of envy, but he shrugged it off. It was hardly his fault that his genetics weren't compatible with the avatar program, and he'd long since learned to live with it. Besides, if he'd been in an avatar, he wouldn't have fit in the cab of the slash-cutter, and this was tons of fun!

* * *

As he peered into the clearing where the link-mod rested Jake could see Quaritch in his AMP suit, knife-blade held high, about to drive a killing blow into Tom's unconscious avatar. His eyes narrowed and he felt a fresh surge of adrenaline (or whatever you called the Na'vi equivalent) flood his system. Fuck no, that wasn't going to happen! Not if Jake had anything to say about it!

"Give it up, Quaritch!" he called out as he leapt down from the tree he'd been crouching in, landing in a crouch before standing, "It's all over." He had to at least give the man a chance to back out. Not that he thought it was likely to happen. The Colonel had an absolutely raging level of testosterone, and even through the scratched glass of the AMP's cockpit Jake could see the deep level of crazy shining in his eyes.

"Nothin's over while I'm breathin'." Quaritch said firmly, and Jake flashed a feral grin.

"I kinda hoped you'd say that," he said, and ran toward him, picking up the bayonet portion of the AMP's gun that he could see lying on the ground in front of him like somebody had kindly placed it there for his very own use.

They faced off and battle quickly commenced, the bayonet and knife meeting again and again in a style more reminiscent of down and dirty street fighting than any kind of formal martial art. There was no graceful parry and riposte here, just brutal stabs and blocks, and while Quaritch might have the superior size, strength and reach in his AMP suit, Jake had agility on his side and it showed. Constantly he ducked under the Colonel's powerful but wild swings, dancing just outside his reach and darting in tor a quick jab or stab of his own. Finally, just as Quaritch was beginning to get a little too close for comfort, Jake managed, with a baseball-bat-like swing of the bayonet, to catch the blade of Quaritch's knife in the handle, and with a quick twist of his grip, snapped it off at the hilt.

Pressing his advantage, he darted to a nearby rock and launched himself into the air, stabbing the bayonet down straight through the windshield of the AMP although not, he quickly realized with disappointment, into Quaritch himself. He vaulted over the suit's head, evading Quaritch's attempt to grab him, then had to duck as Quaritch pulled the broken bayonet out and threw it in his direction.

"Come on!" he called out, dancing in front of the crippled suit as Quaritch paused to put on his exopak mask and jettison the shattered plex of the windshield.

"Hey Sully," Quaritch said darkly, "how's it feel to betray your own race?"

Jake didn't even grace that with any reply other than an angry hiss, but that said all that needed saying. 'It feels pretty damned good! You are so goin' down!' All of that was implicit in his fierce display.

"You think you're one of them?" Quaritch sneered, "Time to wake up!"

He turned and strode over toward the link-mod, and Jake's eyes went wide with alarm. Shit! If Quaritch pulled him out of link, this was all going to go to hell quicker than a hooker sliding down a greased pole.

* * *

Xander waved once more in thanks to the tower gunner who'd been watching their backs as they came around the corner just out of his line of sight and saw Max in his purloined slash-cutter. He watched as Mike and LeJun took out the gunners outside on the balcony, and a few of the others took out other guards stationed on the ground, then he, Nala and four others climbed up the side of the comms-ops tower to complete their objective of capturing it.

It almost reminded him of playing paintball with his brother and friends when they were kids, although, he reminded himself, if he actually shot the gun at anybody it was very likely they'd be killed rather than just bruised and covered in paint.

They jumped inside the massive hole Max had made for them, guns raised to the ceiling and high above human head level as he heard someone call out "Weapons up! Be ready!"

In a barrage of automatic weapons fire, the avatars swarmed into comms-ops, sending everyone diving for cover and ordering them to stay down and not move. Xander let the others take care of subduing the rest of the staff, and he and Nala pushed further in, looking for Selfridge. More than anything else, it was important to make sure they held him hostage. That way he wouldn't have time to send out any kind of damaging messages on the superluminal communications network that might have alerted the execs back on Earth to be on the lookout for the vitally important information Bailey was even now organizing to send out.

They found Selfridge behind his desk, cowering on the floor, and Xander thought it really was only fitting. His dad had always said bullies were the first ones to give up when things really came down to the wire, after all, and when you thought about it in some ways that really was all Selfridge was, a selfish little bully who just didn't understand how things worked here outside of his own scrounging efforts to dig up a bit of profit.

"Okay, stop shooting!" Selfridge whimpered, and Xander and Nala both trained their guns on him.

"Gimme a reason, prick," Xander growled. He might be a pacifist normally, but right now, knowing what this idiot had allowed to happen, he was more than willing to do a little damage. Not kill the man outright, no, but maybe a couple shots through a foot or hand might remind him where his priorities ought to lie.

No, though, he never got that reason. The prick just laid there on his back with his hands up. "Okay," he panted, giving up. Xander figured he'd just have to be satisfied with that for now.

* * *

«_We are almost at the place where your mate rests,_» the _palulukan_ said, «_and it seems all is not well. We should move quickly if we are to keep him alive for you._»

Neytiri agreed with the _palulukan_'s assessment. They didn't have a moment to waste. She could smell/sense her mate through his senses, could smell/sense the desperation he was exuding from his pores, and as they approached through the trees she caught glimpses of him as well. He was fighting with a _tawtute_ in one of their metal bodies, and he seemed to be struggling. He was thrown to the ground, and he seemed to be having a very hard time getting to his feet again. With every glance she got through the trees, the scene got worse. He was getting to his feet, then he was on the ground, then he was beginning to sit up, then the _tawtute_ in his metal body - that _vrrtep_ - had reached down and was lifting Jhake by his _tswin_!

She and the _palulukan_ both had to resist the urge to roar in anger at such an abuse, and put that energy into a leap onto a rock instead, giving Neytiri a clear line of sight beside Jhake's hanging body. The _tawtute_ was holding his own knife to his throat now, but Neytiri had to push her anger aside. To get a clear shot with such a tight angle and a small target, she needed to be utterly focused. She took in a deep breath and released the arrow, feeling a burst of relief as it struck home. The _tawtute_ dropped Jhake in his shock, and Neytiri took the chance to get in closer, releasing her second arrow just to make sure the job was done.

Even before she saw the second arrow strike her target she was off the back of the _palulukan_ and crouched over Jhake's unconscious body. She let out a possessive hiss as she watched the metal body fall, its occupant clearly now dead, then turned her attention back to her mate.

"Jhake!" she called, trying to get his attention, hoping beyond hope that he was alright!

* * *

Tom cursed vociferously as the link-mod rocked with Quaritch's blow, and he struggled to hold on with his one free arm. He debated briefly with himself as to whether he should continue his climb, since he was already almost at the top of the link-mod, or if he should try to quickly climb down and get inside to make sure Jake didn't suffocate.

He was about to climb up over the top and hope to be able to protect Jake once he had to unlink, but then he suddenly became aware of a sound off to the side. He was amazed he could hear anything over the blaring breach-alarm of the link-mod, but there was something... He turned his head to look, and saw something he never would have expected in a million years. There was a thanator, a _palulukan_, at the edge of the clearing, climbing up over a rock to gain height, and on its back... On its back, looking like some kind of avenging angel, there was Neytiri, her bow - her father's bow - drawn.

With a harsh cry, she released her first arrow, then a second as the linked pair, rider and mount, leapt down closer. Tom pulled himself up just high enough to see over the roof of the link-mod and swore. Quaritch, in his AMP suit, had fallen to the ground, obviously dead with a brace of giant arrows protruding from his chest, but Jake was unconscious, or rather, his avatar was empty, and he didn't look to be waking up.

"Jhake!" Neytiri called, shaking him, "Jhake!" and Tom knew there was no time to waste. Clearly Jake was suffocating, somehow unable to get to an exopak, and of course Neytiri didn't know what to do!

He swung down the side of the link-mod as quickly as he could, wincing in pain as he tried to grab hold with his injured arm and sent a wave of tingling up through his elbow before dropping the ten feet to the ground, tucking into the best approximation of a roll he could manage and running for the airlock. He only hoped he had enough time left!

* * *

**Whew! *wipes brow* well that was a ride and a half! I wonder how many of you picked up the little hints about certain characters everyone's been worrying over ^_~ And those who do know my plans, shhhh, let everyone guess until the next chapter comes out XD**

**Now, go read Eywa's Grace! Well, right after you muddle through the...**

**Vocab:**

_**palulukan **_**- thanator**  
_**tìvawmtute **_**- "person of darkness", the name my palulukan give themselves**  
_**toruk**_** - great leonopteryx**  
_**uniltìranyu **_**- "dreamwalker", avatar**  
_**tawtute / sawtute**_** - "sky person/people", human(s)**  
_**atokirina' **_**- seed of the sacred tree, messenger of Eywa**  
_**Vitrautral**_** - Tree of Souls**  
_**yawne**_** - beloved**  
_**tsmuke **_**- sister**  
_**Irayo**_** - thank you**  
_**Sa'nu**_** - mom, affectionately (in this case Mrrket is using it to be politely deferent to Tsenu)**  
_**ikran **_**- banshee**  
_**uniltìrantokx **_**- "dreamwalker body", empty avatar**  
_**Pxasìk**_** - "screw that!", "No way!", a fairly vulgar expression, as Na'vi goes. Yes, this is a Na'vi swear word ^_~**  
_**pa'li**_** - direhorse**  
_**ayVitraya Ramunong**_** - Well of Souls**  
_**vrrtep **_**- demon**  
_**tswin**_** - queue  
**


	42. Chapter 41: Afterimages

***huff huff pant pant* Okay! So first, I should say a hearty "Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!" to you all (that's "happy St. Patrick's day" in Gaelic, in case you couldn't guess) and I suppose I owe you all an explanation for why this chapter was SO. HORRIFICALLY. LATE.**

**Basically, the story goes something like this: I had every intention of pumping this chapter out within the week I posted chapter 40, I didn't want to leave people hanging, because that kind of thing is evil and bad.**

**...but then I got a bad case of "OMG I actually finished the part I was stressing over/looking forward to!" (other authors will recognize this disease) combined with a bit of the ADOS (attention deficit Oh! Shiny!). I had just gotten over the stupid and was hard at work on the chapter, however, when I was hit with the dual attack of Friend visiting for the weekend to go to a local anime con and the evils of snow and ice. The con would have been nothing, only delaying things a few days, but the ice...well...basically I skidded out on black ice while riding my bike, put my foot down to catch myself (unsuccessfully) and ended up landing with my whole weight on my left arm. It's not broken, but the shoulder was partly separated, and that's meant a lot of time in a sling and a lot of time not typing and/or typing really slowly with only one hand.**

**Needless to say that has delayed things a little, but they should be mostly back on track now. I'm still not up to my marathon three or four hour typing sessions, and my speed's still below my usual 50+ wpm, but the next chapters will not have the kinds of delays this one's had. Now! Enough delay, on with the show!  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 41: Afterimages

As she crouched over the unconscious, no, the _empty_ body of her mate, Neytiri suddenly became aware of a strange sound coming from the metal building where Jhake's _tawtute_ body slept. She didn't know much about the strange devices of the _sawtute_ but such a blaring noise couldn't be a good sign. She leapt up and dashed over to the sleeping-place, pressing herself against the window. It was clear that the evil one who had been trying to kill Jhake had done damage here as well, and she knew she had to get inside. The next window was shattered, so she jumped through, squeezing herself somewhat awkwardly into the space designed for beings much smaller than her. As she looked around she could see that there was a _tawtute_ collapsed on the floor, and he didn't have that mask that all their kind needed to breathe in the air of _Eywa'eveng_ which was toxic to their people.

Even though she had not seen Jhake's _tawtute_ body before, it was easy to see the resemblance as she looked at this man. Clearly this must be Jhake; it looked like him, but also there was something, some part of her that just _knew_ her mate, no matter what form he wore.

"Jhake! Ma Jhake!" she called to him, shaking him, but he didn't respond. But...of course! She looked around quickly. Surely there must be one of those masks nearby. It was, in fact, so close that he should have been able to reach it himself. The air must have made trouble for him somehow.

She quickly placed it over his face, holding it in place. It was making a soft hissing sound, and she hoped that meant the right air was getting to him... Were his eyes fluttering open? Yes! It almost seemed like they were! Then all of a sudden he gasped hard, his hands going up and pressing something on the mask so that it stayed in place and cleared of the mist his breath had been creating inside it. An intense wave of relief flowed through her. It was...strange to meet his small, oddly-coloured _tawtute_ eyes through the mask, but even in a strange, small body it was still _him_.

He reached his small, pink hand up to touch her cheek, and she covered it gently with her own.

"I see you," he whispered, his voice rough, presumably from the effects of the air that had troubled him.

"I see you," she whispered back, unable to stop the small tears which leaked from her eyes. His body was small and strange and yet...it was indeed her Jhake; the spirit that looked out at her from those eyes was the same one she knew so well.

* * *

She hurt. That was the first thing she became aware of as she crept her way back toward consciousness. She...wasn't entirely sure she really _wanted_ to be conscious. She knew she was dying, and okay it was a bit cowardly but she really didn't want to be awake for that. It sucked bad enough, she hadn't wanted to be a martyr, but...yeah it would've been better to sleep through all this.

_"Calmly, ma 'ite,"_ a voice whispered somewhere nearby, _"I will not allow such a thing to happen just yet."_

Great, now she was hallucinating, on top of everything else. She felt something wrap around her, and the pain of the burns began to fade. Yeah, that was better. It felt so much better, in fact, that she started to wonder if she had just been imagining it in the first place. Naw, it was probably just endorphins or something making her feel better now. Oh well, might as well enjoy it while she could. She relaxed and let her mind drift, slipping into a kindof dreamlike state.

_"I find myself in need of your knowledge,"_ the first voice was saying.

_"Of course,"_ said somebody else. She recognized that voice, it was someone she knew really well, but she couldn't bring the name to mind, _"What particular knowledge did you need? You already know all about plants and whatnot."_

_"I need to know about how your uniltìrantokx was made, how your people blended the stuff of life together to make a body that is of this world but linked to yours."_

_"Right. Well that might take some explaining, you see, the way it works is..."_

The voices trailed off, becoming indistinct. She couldn't make out what they were saying anymore, but at least the pain remained a distant memory. She was wrapped in a cocoon of warmth and comfort, and her mind drifted there for no time and for eternities. She was aware that somewhere outside - or was it inside herself - there was a tingling that might have been painful, but it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the warmth and that she was where she knew she would be safe.

* * *

As soon as the airlock opened (and he'd had to press an override to get it to open at all, since the computer systems were apparently designed not to open it in event of an atmospheric leak) Tom hurried into the link room toward Jake's link pod, but as soon as he saw Neytiri crouched there he paused.

"I owe you one," Tom heard Jake chuckle quietly, "now if only I didn't have to wear this stupid mask..."

"No! Do not take it off!" Neytiri exclaimed, worry clearly evident in her voice.

"I'll hold my breath," Jake assured her, "I just..." The soft sound of a kiss was unmistakable, and Tom almost couldn't help holding his breath until he heard the hiss of Jake's mask re-engaging.

He coughed lightly, not wanting them to get too distracted to notice that they had an audience. He saw one of Neytiri's ears flick back to locate the source of the sound before she turned to look at him, and he found himself almost surprised that his own ears didn't fold in submission at the glare she cast in his direction before she realized who he was.

"_Kaltxì, ma Tom,_" she said, "Ninat must be worried that you are not with her."

"Yeah," he agreed, "which is why I want to get back into link as soon as I can, now that the threat is gone...although I dunno if my avatar will let me, I was pretty groggy after hitting that tree..."

"Can we even link up like this?" Jake frowned, peering around Neytiri to look at him, "I mean, wouldn't the exopak interfere with the interface or some shit like that?"

"Well, I don't _think_ it'll interfere..." Tom bit his lip thoughtfully, "but I don't think I remember reading anything on that...I guess we'll just have to try and see, and if it does turn out to be a problem then we'll have to find some way to patch up the window so we can restore the proper atmosphere. Either way though, we'd better do something. I'm pretty sure Quaritch gave me a nasty slice across the back before he threw me into that tree, and I'd really like to get it patched up..."

"Shit! Tommy why didn't you say something?" Jake frowned, reaching up to try to haul himself into the link bed. It was a bit too far for even his well-developed arms to lift himself, though, and he swore darkly.

"Jhake? Is something wrong?" Neytiri looked down at him, worried, "is it because of the air, because the mask was not soon enough?"

"No, it's..." Jake growled softly, "do you remember when I explained to you about my _tawtute_ body and how it was damaged?"

"I...had forgotten," Neytiri admitted, "do you need help?"

Tom knew Jake hated nothing more than accepting help, but he held his tongue, waiting to see what would happen.

There was silence for a long moment, and then Jake sighed. "Yeah," he admitted, "a little help would be good. I just need to get into this thing here and hit a couple buttons so I can go back to my other body."

"Of course," Neytiri nodded and lifted him up as if he was nothing more than a child - which, Tom admitted to himself, he really was about the size of, comparatively - and set him carefully down in the link bed.

Once he was in there, Tom hurried over and punched in the necessary codes. He looked around and met Jake's eyes where his brother was sitting up in the pod. "Thanks," he said quietly, "if you hadn't shown up when you did, I probably wouldn't even have an avatar left to link up to."

"Well you're the one who delayed Quaritch long enough for me to get here," Jake shrugged, "so I figure we're even."

Tom chuckled and ducked back over to his own link bed and hopped in, keying in the sequence for his link and then pulling the lid down over him and hoping to God - to Eywa - that this would still work with a mask on. If it didn't, well...it would take a good amount of time to close up the window, and he would have to have someone carry his unconscious avatar to the healers if that was the case and...Well, he _really_ didn't want Ninat to see something like that if he could help it.

* * *

They had found his avatar, and Norm was relieved that although it was obviously injured, it still breathed and, once they had put a bandage on its - his? - shoulder, they'd draped it - no, definitely him, this wasn't just some empty puppet, it was his other self, and he'd better get used to it, because after what had happened today he really didn't want to be considered "human" anymore - over the back of the _pa'li_ and turned back, heading in the direction of the healers, stopping now and then to patch up wounded Na'vi warriors as they came across them. As they were crossing one of the innumerable small rivers, Norm saw something that caught his eye... and his imagination. There was a Sampson sitting there. Just _sitting_ there! The front windshield was shattered, but it looked as though it had set down properly or at least hadn't had far to drop, and aside from the windshield it didn't look damaged at all. Maybe... Maybe he _could_ do something, after all! It...would be good to honour her memory like this, he nodded solemnly to himself.

"_Stop here,_" he told Mo'met, "_I need to examine the kunsìp, perhaps it can bring us news of how the battle fares in the main home of the sawtute._"

"_That would be a good thing to know, indeed,_" Mo'met nodded. He pulled his _pa'li _up next to the Sampson and gently lifted Norm down off her back, leaning over to set him on the ground. Norm took note of the Sampson's number - 18 - painted on the door, then looked around as he climbed into the cockpit and couldn't help but notice a distinct lack of evidence as to where the pilot had gone. The only signs he could see were a few scattered drops of blood and the torn and sliced ends of the five-point restraint harness that had held him or her in place.

Well, whatever had killed (and seemingly eaten) the pilot, it didn't seem to have damaged anything else, thank goodness. All the electrical systems were working, and although the sensors were squirrely, that was only to be expected, given that they were still well within the flux vortex. He grabbed one of the spare headsets and opened hailing frequencies on the radio. What he heard almost made him smile.

"All ships, this is Hell's Gate Tower. Return to base, repeat, return to base. The Dragon is down. All remaining personnel are to be evacuated to Hell's Gate on my orders." It was Selfridge's voice, but that wasn't what made Norm so pleased to hear it. It wasn't even the fact that presumably Quaritch was now dead and the battle truly over. No, the thing that lightened Norm's heavy heart just a fraction was the fact that he could hear familiar voices in the background telling Selfridge what to say, and he knew all of them were avatars. Not wanting to alert any of the other aircraft currently heading back to base to the fact that they were almost certainly flying into an orderly ambush, he switched over to the private frequency Jake and Max had agreed upon for the battle.

"This is Norm," he said, "I'd love an update, if you can."

"Hey Norm! This is Nala," the female zoologist sounded bright and cheerful, "We've managed to make a rather glorious mess of the comms-ops center and we're taking all the returning troops into custody as they land. Hey, how come you're coming up on my comlink as "Sampson one-eight"?"

"That would be because I've commandeered it," Norm shrugged, "Good to hear everything's going well there. I might be seeing you fairly soon; my avatar's injured and I'd like to bring him...me...you know," he shook his head, rolling his eyes at his own inability to decide what pronoun to use, "back to get patched up."

"You have a pilot commandeered as well?" Nala asked, surprised.

"No," Norm shook his head with a sigh, "no, pilot, but I can manage. I was taught by the best, after all."

"I didn't know you could fly," she said, and he could hear the curiosity in her voice.

"It's a recently acquired skill," he said, "but I figure I know enough to limp home as long as I keep to pretty level flying and don't try to thread my way through the mountains or anything dumb like that."

"Right," she agreed, "well then let us know when you're close, and we'll make sure to send a medical team out to meet you."

"I might pick up a couple of the worst-wounded Na'vi in my vicinity as well," Norm said, "the casualties here on the ground were..." He just shook his head, "It isn't pretty, on either side," he said finally.

"We'll do what we can for whomever you bring in," Nala confirmed, "it's the right thing to do, after all, and I hardly think the med techs would object. Hippocratic oath and all that, after all."

"Right," Norm said, "I'll let you know when I'm on approach, then. Norm out." He closed the channel and closed his eyes for a moment, then took a deep breath and got out of the cockpit.

"_What did you learn?_" Mo'met asked.

"_The ayuniltìranyu have taken the home of the sawtute,_" Norm allowed a small smile, "_and they are willing to accept those wounded who we can bring to them for healing._" He looked back over at the Sampson. "_I can make this bird fly,_" he said, "_my...my yawnetu taught me the way although I am not the expert she is...was..._" he choked slightly, "_and if you will load my other body into its belly, we can use it to bring those injured who will fit inside to the tawtute place to be healed._"

"_I will bring those we were most concerned over,_" Mo'met nodded, "_I have been told the sawtute have powerful ways of healing, if strange ones._"

"_They do,_" Norm nodded. "_I will get the kunsìp ready so that when you have loaded the injured I will be able to take to the air right away._"

"_I will be quick,_" Mo'met said shortly and dismounted, carefully unloading Norm's avatar and carrying it over to the back of the Sampson.

Norm showed him how to strap the limp body into the seat (figuring it would take up less space and the wound would then be above the level of his heart) and also how to strap down anyone who might need to be laid out on the floor, and then he hopped back up into the cockpit and started his pre-flight checks.

"Never hurry through your checks," he could almost hear Trudy saying, "no matter how much of a hurry you think you're in, take your time, 'cause if you miss something and only remember when you're a thousand feet up that you didn't do a rotor balance-check, you're really gonna regret it." He paused briefly, fighting back tears, then shook his head hard and continued. They could look for Trudy's body later, and then there would be time for mourning. Right now he could honour her better by remembering that he still had a job to do.

* * *

After the shooting had stopped, as his fellow comms-ops folks had gotten their emergency rebreathers or exopaks and had surrendered, Jaime stood up, shook off the shattered plex that had somehow ended up all over him, and waved at the avatars. Somebody tossed him a gun, and he grinned behind the clear mask of his exopak.

"Nice what you've done with the place," he laughed.

"Jaime? What the hell, man! You're on their side?"

He hopped up on the desk and grinned down at Ronnie, his perennial seatmate, with a shrug. "Just doin' what seems like the right thing," he said, "not my fault you didn't see the right thing to do early enough."

"You mean you saw which way the wind was blowing and decided to throw your lot in with the race-traitors," Ronnie spat.

"No," Jaime shook his head firmly, "even before I could see which way, as you say, the wind was blowing I chose to retain my better humanity and throw my lot in with those who didn't want to run roughshod over the planet. I've shot enough people that didn't deserve it; I'd love the chance to shoot a few people who do." He shrugged and his serious expression morphed back into his usual light-hearted grin, "Now if you don't feel like making yourself into one of those people, I suggest you fall in line with the rest of the conquered lot."

Ronnie glared at him, but he fell into line quickly enough, and Jaime took note of the fact that he seemed to be furtively rubbing his fingers over his right thigh. He knew there was a good chance his (now ex-) seatmate had some kind of concealed weapon in there, but he wasn't too concerned. After all, he'd seen the method the avatars had for checking their new prisoners for weapons before herding them down the outside stairs. It had only taken a few incidents of people being held upside-down and shaken "to see what might fall out" for the prisoners to realize they were serious. He suspected Ronnie was going to be another of those "upside-down" types

By the time everyone but Selfridge had been "evacuated" from the destroyed comms-ops tower and gathered into a sad little bunch on the tarmac, it was clear that many of them had begun to see that any attempt at resistance was futile, at least for now. Jaime watched them from his seat perched on some shipping containers, his gun resting on his lap. His pose might have looked casual, but then, he wasn't the only guard, and when they'd seen how fast his gun moved into position if anyone started edging toward the outer edge of the group they quickly learned not to test him anymore.

Now he was bringing the other skills of a sniper into play: he was observing behaviour. He'd been watching his co-workers for years, but especially he'd been observing them carefully since things against the Na'vi had escalated, and there were a couple whom he suspected were sympathetic to their cause. Judy, for example, had looked particularly sick during the fall of Hometree, and David...well... He shrugged. David had always had a bit of a soft spot for the Na'vi kids, especially back when Doc Augustine was still running the school. Jaime didn't know for sure what the deal would end up being, whether all the humans were going to be confined somewhere or somehow sent away home, but if they were going to be sent home, it might be a good idea to have a few "hidden operatives" among them who could be eye-witnesses and pass on the truth rather than regurgitating the party line. He'd said as much to Max when they'd talked last night, and he'd say it to whomever the Na'vi sent to discuss things too. Well, or say it through a translator. It wasn't like he knew anything other than really basic stuff in Na'vi, after all.

* * *

As Tsu'tey groaned his way toward consciousness, he was very confused. He had passed out on the ground outside, but now he was in some sort of...was it a storage-burrow? The places where he had been struck by the _tawtute_ weapon still burned with a dull flame, but at least he didn't seem to be losing any more blood.

He frowned as he looked down at his belly to the holes he could most easily see. They weren't wrapped, and although the blood and paint around them had been cleaned away, it had only been cleaned in those areas closest to the wounds and none of his decorative battle-dress had been taken off him. He'd been so sure someone had come to tend his wounds...had he only been dreaming it? But...no, that could not be. _Someone_ must have stopped the bleeding... He resisted the urge to prod the holes; he knew better than to poke at something that wasn't covered and thus risk losing more blood, but... He carefully shifted position again and raised his hands to his neck. Sleeping with the ceremonial neck-piece on had not done him any favours, especially where the large _palulukan_ claws pressed against the skin of his chest. He would be much more comfortable if he took off all his ceremonial pieces of dress and put them away somewhere.

It took a little work, and it was slow going with his sore, injured muscles, especially when he tried to raise his hands above the level of his chest, but eventually he managed to get everything except a couple of armbands off. He even unclasped his girdle and set it aside on top of his greaves and bracers, but once that was done he had to lie back down again. He was, quite simply, exhausted.

It was then that the full implication of where he was dawned upon him. Probably because a very familiar face poked into the small burrow he was occupying. He hadn't been saved by another Na'vi, or even one of the _sawtute_, but by his old friend Natsmukan. No wonder his wounds hadn't been bound!

When Natsmukan saw that he was awake, he came fully into the space and settled down beside Tsu'tey, then made a soft woofing noise before extending his _tswin_.

«_Is good large brother is awake again,_» he said, «_Large brother should stay with pack until small holes are skin again. Pack will provide._»

"_Thank you, brother,_" Tsu'tey raised a shaky hand to stroke his forehead, "_I would be glad to stay with the pack until I'm well enough to travel._"

Another of the pack came into the space then, not all the way, but just enough to place a large piece of what looked (and smelled) like _yerik _liver on Tsu'tey's lap before backing away somewhat skittishly.

Tsu'tey frowned. He had no fire here, and he knew he wasn't well enough to be crawling around looking for sparking-rocks to start one, but raw liver was...not so very appetizing...

He shook his head, closed his eyes and gave a small prayer of thanks to the animal which was providing him with the energy to heal, then brought the liver up to his mouth and bit into it, chewing and swallowing as quickly as he could. It wasn't as bad as he had anticipated, but perhaps that was because he was both exhausted and desperately hungry. Even so, he only made it through about half before his stomach began to protest, and he held the rest out to Natsmukan.

"_You take this, brother,_" he said, "_I am too tired to eat any more and I would not want to see it go to waste._"

«_Waste food is always bad,_» Natsmukan agreed and took the piece of liver from his hand, swallowing it down in one quick gulp, then carefully licking his fingers clean. «_Large brother sleep now and heal, pack will bring more food when awake again._»

Tsu'tey barely needed the suggestion - he was past the point of exhaustion even though he'd been unconscious or sleeping for some time already - so he carefully curled up on the bed of dried grasses and closed his eyes, slipping into sleep again almost instantly.

* * *

Hidden behind some rocks, with only Pämeya for company, Louise was currently struggling with the intricacies of putting on and wearing Na'vi clothing. With there being so little of it you'd think it would be easy, but really, wrapping the tails of the loincloth around the base of _her_ tail in a balanced fashion so that it didn't pull to either side was harder than it looked. Especially since it was behind her where she couldn't really see, even with the increased flexibility of a Na'vi (or avatar) neck.

At least she was pretty much okay with how little she was wearing on top. One of the other midwives was on the slightly larger-chested side and had let her borrow an intricately-beaded piece that was rather like a halter-top, looping around her neck and draping over her chest, then tying at the small of her back.

Once she'd finally managed to get the loincloth so it didn't pull in any weird and/or revealing ways, she gave Pämeya a sheepish grin. "_I'll never comment about how simple Na'vi clothing is again,_" she laughed, "_Thank you for all your help._"

"_No need for thanks,_" Pämeya shook her head, "_you are a foster-daughter of the clan now, after all, it is only right that we share with you so that you do not have to walk around nude. The clothing of the People is much more flattering to your figure than the tawtute clothing which bags about your frame,_" she added. She chuckled then. "_It is good, though, that you are mated already, as you might otherwise prove something of a distraction to the young males. They might object to some of the physical differences of the ayuniltìranyu but I suspect that your more curved bodies might prompt some appreciative staring were you unmated and available._"

Louise laughed at that. "_Well, there's just me and Cathy, and we're both mated,_" she nodded, then felt a flash of sadness. There had been four female avatars, but Grace was... She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to grieve. "_Well, actually that's not entirely true. There's me, Cathy and Nala, and Nala's single, but she's back at _Hell's Gate." She got a thoughtful expression on her face, which quickly shifted to somewhat crafty. "_Maybe I should see if she would like to visit..._"

Pämeya just laughed and shook her head. "_It is always the desire of mated women to see their friends mated also, I see this is true among the ayuniltìranyu just as it is among the People,_"

"_Possibly,_" Louise flushed, "_it would be...nice, though, to have friends who are in the same situation as myself, whose babies my baby could grow up playing with. I don't know any of the other women who are pregnant, although I suppose I do have some time still to meet them and get to know them._"

"_You will have plenty of time to get to know the other young mothers,"_ Pämeya confirmed, "_and besides, it is likely there will be many new mothers in the months to come. After such a loss of life as we have recently had, the Great Mother likes to return the balance quickly, and many of the mated women will fall pregnant over the next few months, I should think._"

Louise chuckled. "_Perhaps I'll have to keep a little tally,_" she said, "_It will give me something to think about, at least._"

"_Distraction from one's worries is always a good thing,_" Pämeya agreed, "_Now come. You should not hide behind this rock for the rest of the day. You are properly dressed, perhaps we can find something to keep your fingers busy while you wait for your mate to return._"

"_I'd appreciate that,_" Louise nodded, stepping out from behind the rock and trying not to think about the fact that everyone could see her backside. They could see everyone else's backsides too, and nobody stared, so why should they stare at hers? "_Thank you,_" she said with a smile as she followed Pämeya over toward the Healers' area. Maybe she could help with preparation of herbs some more. There was no doubt they'd be needed over the next little while.

* * *

Bailey glanced over to where Dolan was setting up the superluminal signal for Parker Selfridge and ensured the timing was right on. If he was going to hide his signal, they needed to be precise, after all.

Being careful to press the button exactly along with Dolan he watched as the screen went through its familiar dialling routine. It must have been some time in the middle of the night, because it took five rings for Devon's tired, haggard face to appear on screen.

"Sheila, what the hell do you... Oh! Well, you aren't Sheila. Almost as pretty, though."

"You're looking well yourself," Bailey laughed. "I swear the bags under your eyes get deeper every year."

"Yeah, well, the UN'll do that to a boy. What're you up to your own self?"

Bailey grinned broadly, "Overturning a corrupt corporation from the inside, or should I say _overturned_ the entire Pandoran operations?"

"You're havin' me on," Devon frowned deeply.

"Not even a little. It's great _craic_, really, well, this part anyway. What they did before we pulled ourselves and the Na'vi together and took them down, well..." Bailey shook his head and pressed a button on the console. "I'm sending you the file. It's full of inflammatory bits and bobs, as well as a vid of them perpetrating genocide in the name of progress. You still have all your old contacts, I suppose?"

"Absolutely," Devon nodded. "I'll get it out there. They're not gonna be able to sweep this under the carpet, I can promise you that. Want me to take it to my actual bosses as well?"

"If you wouldn't mind," Bailey nodded, "I get the feeling, as much as I hate to say it, that we're gonna need to have the legal folks on our side in this one - the actual authorities, even."

"You got it," Devon said, and then he laughed. A short, sharp bark of a laugh that led to a hacking cough for at least a minute before he could get it back under control. "We'll take down the corporate bastards from inside and outside and make sure humanity knows just how much they've been bilked. Never was a big fan of monopolies myself, never really trusted that they weren't milking every bit of cash out of the cow that they could before they'd give me the socks from my own sock drawer."

"I know, man, I know," Bailey smiled. He glanced over and saw that Selfridge was almost done with his scripted explanation to his over-bosses. "Hey, I have to sign off now, but we'll chat more later. You got the data?"

"Got it," Devon confirmed.

"Then I'll see you when I see you," Bailey waved, "and take care of yourself. You're no help to me if you let a little thing like a cold take you out."

"Yeah, yeah, love you too," Devon raised his middle finger in the international salute, and Bailey laughed as he closed the channel. Devon always had been a bit of a stubborn jackass, but he was worth his weight in unobtanium, for both his skills and his connections. Bailey didn't doubt that Devon would have the Fall of Hometree showing on every billboard over the entire globe before the day was out, and multiple copies of the private internal RDA documents showing that they had deliberately invited an attack to give a reason for that retaliation published in multiple forms on the 'net and all the other forms of media he could find or invent not long after that. Or even before, depending on which he decided to go with.

"Alright," he heard one of the avatars say, and turned to see Parker being hauled to his feet, "time for you to join the rest of your kind.

Parker looked like he wanted to object, but considering that the avatar was (more than) twice his height, and armed with a massive semi-automatic machine gun, he kept his mouth shut. A pity, as far as Bailey was concerned. He'd love to have seen the man give them a reason to do a little damage to his person. Even the normally-pacifist hacker would be willing to do something physical and scarring to the little man who'd been at the center of so many problems lately.

* * *

As Peyral opened her eyes, she was, initially, confused. It took her a moment to realize that she wasn't lying injured on the ground somewhere, but was back at _Vitrautral_. She sat bolt upright and tried to get to her feet, but unfamiliar hands caught her around the shoulders and pulled her back down.

"_Now just where do you think you're going?_" a man's voice said, and she squirmed under his grip, but he didn't seem inclined to let go, and she was finding a disturbing lack of her usual strength.

"_Please, ma tsmuke,_" she heard Ninat say to her, "_you need to rest. The healers say you have lost a lot of blood._"

Peyral took a deep breath and forced herself to relax - or at least, to seem to relax - as she turned her head to see Ninat. She was beginning to remember what had happened, but she still had no memory of landing or being handed over to the healers. "_I am fine,_" she insisted, "_I'm feeling much better now. I really should get back to the battle. Jhake needs me to watch his back, after all. We would not want Neytiri to be sad at losing him!_"

Ninat looked over at the man who'd been holding her down, and Peyral turned her head to look at him as well, frowning as she realized this was the same warrior who had caught her when she fell from the back of the _tawsìp_. "_And you...I told you to set me down so that I could re-join the fight! What are you doing here? You, at least, should not have been so cowardly that you stayed behind, even if I was injured and needed to be patched up._"

She felt a slight shiver move through her as a frown made his friendly, easygoing face seem suddenly much darker, although she tried to hide her reaction. She wasn't _afraid_ precisely, but she was suddenly very aware of how close he was sitting to her, and that he still had one hand resting on her shoulder and would know if she tried to get up again.

"_Do you honestly think I would have set you down in the middle of battle when you were losing blood and were unconscious?_" he gave her a "look" that reminded her, somehow, of her father, "_and as for my bravery or lack of bravery, there are two important things to consider. First, I was ordered by Tsenu, the healer, to watch over you and make sure you didn't get up before she was ready for you to be up, and second, the battle is over. It has been over for some time now, and was over almost as soon as I brought you back here to be healed, so there would not have been any point in my returning to fight enemies already dead or running with their tails between their legs._"

"_Oh,_" she lowered her eyes from his and bit her lip. She'd made a real miscalculation, and she knew it. "_My apologies then, I didn't realize..._"

"_Don't worry about it,_" he shook his head, and the easygoing smile was back, although having had a glimpse of the strength behind it, that smile now seemed less goofy than she had initially thought. "_You have been unconscious after all, how would you have known the battle is over?_" His hand was _still_ resting on her shoulder, and she wasn't sure if it was just a reaction from her apparent loss of blood but her skin seemed to almost tingle under his touch. It was...odd, and just distracting enough that she wanted to ask him to move it...

She heard Ninat gasp just then, and cry out with what sounded almost like pain, and without thinking about what she was doing she tried to sit up again, but his hands were _most_ firm with her, and even though she struggled, it seemed he wasn't going to let her up from the ground. She stilled, though, when she heard a familiar voice. Or, rather, she fought harder to get up until she heard what he said.

"Peyral!" Jhake exclaimed, "What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're trying to disobey the healers! It looks like you're supposed to be lying down!"

Damnit, it seemed as though she couldn't do anything right! First she finally fell in love with a man only to pick the one who was destined for one of her closest friends, now she wasn't even able to spend her life to keep his safe, although it seemed, from what she could see, that he was uninjured. His brother wasn't, though, which was obviously what Ninat had noticed. She had gotten to her feet and was speaking in quiet, but obviously scolding tones to her mate, whom Jhake was helping to walk, his arm slung low around his twin's waist so as to avoid irritating the slash across his shoulders.

Even though she was now "being good" and lying down, the hands on Peyral's shoulders didn't let up, and she looked over at her saviour/captor to see that his ears were back and he was glaring at Jhake. But of course! He was of a distant clan, he would not know any _Ìnglìsì_, and would only know that this man had addressed her in a scolding tone in words that had to be of the _sawtute_.

"_I will be good, ma Jhake, if you think I should be,_" she said, with a gentle smile for him, "_I am sorry. You know I didn't mean to leave your side during the battle, right?_"

Jhake sighed. "_I not want you killed for me safe,_" he said, but looked at the man who held her down, rather than looking at her. "_Thank you for keep sister safe from bad habit,_" he told him.

Peyral could see the confusion on the other man's face, and said softly. "_His speaking is always a bit strange; he meant to say thank you for keeping me safe from my own inclination to rush right back into battle._"

"_I cannot leave you alone for a second, can I?_" Neytiri arrived then, and lightly smacked the back of Jake's head.

"Oh good!" Jake turned to smile softly at her, "my translator is back!"

Peyral subsided with a sigh, feeling the energy seem to seep out of her body into the ground. She knew it wasn't intentional, but could he not let her be the one to help him in _any_ way at _all_? Even if it was just to _translate _for him? She looked away and closed her eyes. Maybe she should just go to sleep and when she woke up she would feel better. She thought it unlikely, but since the man who'd caught her (damnit she still didn't know his name!) wouldn't let her get up and leave, this was really the only option she had for getting out of the situation.

Looking between Peyral who seemed to be determined to seem asleep (or had she actually fallen back asleep? He couldn't be sure but he wasn't going to try to wake her to find out) and the man who had come up to them and sparked such a reaction in her - the one he was positive he recognized as Toruk Makto - Mrrket frowned. There was something going on here, and he didn't like how it seemed to dim the spark in her eyes and make her run away like that, even if she was only running away inside her own head. Clearly there were questions he ought to be asking, but for the time being he would wait. The man had other things to deal with right now, clearly, and he still had to watch over Peyral. When he got a free moment, though...

* * *

Tom smiled around the throbbing in his head as he listened to his mate's soft voice chiding him. He wasn't hearing most of the words, but he did so love the musical sound of Ninat's voice. He was just nodding slowly (because his head hurt) as she talked, but then a worried tone started entering her voice, so he figured he probably ought to pay attention.

"_I don't see why you could not send someone else in your place if you were worried - one of the boarder guards in the right area, perhaps?_"

Tom shook his head, wincing slightly at the way it seemed to make his brain slosh around in his head. He leaned over with the intention of kissing her forehead reassuringly, but instead he somehow ended up with his nose nuzzled into her hair, breathing deeply.

"Smell so good..." he groaned softly. He'd meant to say something along the lines of "perhaps we should hold off on the rest of the lecture until I'm sitting down." but his conscious mind, already in a bit of a muzzy state due to being slammed into a tree, was completely fogged over the moment her scent enveloped him. He'd been intensely aware of it from the time they first made _tsaheylu_, of course, but he'd been doing his best to suppress his reaction in public. Now, though, he couldn't seem to muster enough sense to remember why that had seemed so important.

He could feel the hands leading him to another area, the other soft voices imploring him to sit so that his back could be treated, but through it all he just continued to nuzzle into his mate and cuddle her close. Honestly his head hurt a bit too much to be doing everything he actually wanted to do, but that was alright, as long as he kept her close enough he could do all those things as soon as his eyes stopped throbbing in time to his heartbeat. He hissed in pain as he felt something passing across his wound, probably cleaning it, but not even that was enough to drag him away from Ninat. Especially not when she reacted to his exclamation of pain by running her fingers gently over his chest to try to soothe him.

Mmm...yes, that was better. Whatever it was they were putting on his wound now didn't hurt, it just felt kinda cold and tight, and somebody else was doing something to his head that made it start to hurt a little less. Maybe soon they'd all leave and then he could do naughty things to Ninat. Ahh, lovely naughty things...

* * *

Once the traitors were finally done with forcing him to call a retreat (something that should probably have been done before they managed to take over, but then, hindsight is always twenty-twenty, as they say) Parker Selfridge was marched down the outside stairs and put into the group with all the rest of the RDA employees. There were people from comms-ops there, of course, but he was surprised (and somewhat appalled) to realize that there were other people there as well. He hated to admit it, but the geeks were smart. They hadn't just cleared out the obvious places; it looked like they had gone systematically through the entire base and taken every single human who wasn't on their side into custody. Even the cooks and servers from the cafeteria were sitting there, looking slightly stunned.

How the hell had they ever ended up in such a - if you'll pardon the term - fucked-up situation, even Parker wasn't sure. Well, okay, maybe that wasn't entirely true. He knew part of how they'd ended up like this, what really surprised him was the fact that so many of the geeks had rebelled. Like...all of them, it seemed. He briefly regretted not shutting down the avatar program like he'd threatened; not shuttling them all back up to the Venture Star days ago and having them put into cryo, but...well, he'd always been the man with an eye on the bottom line, and he'd hate to have had to listen to another of his uncle Peter's lectures about wasting resources the next time he'd checked in. Of course, this time the lecture had been far worse... He was almost - _almost_, mind you - grateful to whatever avatar driver geek it was who'd forced him to keep the superluminal call short. At least that had meant that he got to interrupt and shut Uncle Peter up, for once.

He sat alone in amongst all the other incarcerated humans, trying to figure out just how far back he'd done or said or taken that inevitable step that led to everything going totally to hell, and it was... Well, he supposed it wasn't really that odd that nobody wanted to interrupt his thinking, but it would have been nice to have someone to bitch at, who didn't expect him to "be the leader" and find them all a way out of this. Ha. Not that he'd had any experience with everyone looking to him. He knew perfectly well that half the sec-ops thought he was some useless little weasel figurehead for Quaritch, and frankly he hadn't really cared before, or at least, he'd told himself he didn't care, but now... Well, now they were going to have to turn to him for leadership.

He took a deep breath and sat up a little straighter. Quaritch was gone now. Dead, most likely. They'd said the Dragon went down, and even if he hadn't gone down with the ship, there's no way he would have just given up and come in, which meant that, since they hadn't heard anything from him, he was probably dead and gone, and that left Parker to pick up the slack. How impressive would it be if he managed to somehow pull all this out of the toilet all on his own? Of course, he wasn't quite sure how he was going to do that just yet, today had been a _big_ upset, after all, but he was sure if he just thought about it he could work out something. He hadn't graduated top of his class in Economics and Planning at MIT because he was an idiot, after all. If they had nothing to do but sit here for now, then he was going to use that time to engage his brain and maybe - just _maybe_ - he could still be the company hero.

* * *

Once he was sure Tom was in good hands with the healers (and Ninat. Jake had a feeling his sister-in-law wasn't going to let Tom out of her sight for at least a month now, and frankly, he couldn't even blame her. She'd had quite the week with him, that was for sure!) Jake and Neytiri headed to the center of the Well of Souls to have something of a conference. He'd asked her to gather all the healthiest of the _ikran aymakto_ from each clan so that he could speak with them, and now here they were, waiting for him. He knew that their victory here wasn't going to be the end of things - it couldn't be, not while Earth still needed unobtanium, but he'd gotten the news from Hell's Gate that the base was also under avatar control, and with both of today's battles won, it was important that the many clans who had sent their warriors to his call knew that their sacrifices had not been in vain. Jake waited until the murmurs in reaction to his presence had returned to quiet, then gestured in greeting to the crowd in front of him and smiled over at Neytiri. Even with his Na'vi language skills improving every day, he still felt a lot better about things if he could get someone to translate. That way, he knew for sure that he wasn't making some kind of horrendous error, like getting mixed up and using the wrong word for "we" and alienating most of his audience. Not that he'd ever done that...at least, not on purpose...

"You have all fought well today," he began, and glanced over at Neytiri, giving her time to translate. "It was a difficult battle, but by the grace of Eywa we made it through, and the Sky People have been forced into a retreat." Hmm...He actually didn't know the word for "retreat". He listened carefully to Neytiri's translation to try to catch what it might be. "I know all of you are tired after today's battle, and you are well-deserving of a rest, both for you and for your _ayikran_, but I have one last task to ask of you today," he smiled at them, letting them see he didn't mean to push them beyond what they were willing to do. "The clans need to know of our victory, they need to know that their brothers and sisters were brave, and have lived and died bravely," he explained, "so I want you to talk among yourselves and decide, for each clan, which of you has the most energy and will be able to carry the message back so that your people can rejoice with us at the victory that all of us have earned." That last sounded a little...stilted, he had to admit, but that was okay, this was a formal sort of thing, really.

There was a great burst of excited conversation among the warriors, and he held up his hand for a minute or two more of silence. "One last thing," he said, "and then I'll leave you to hash out the assignments between yourselves. I would ask those returning to the closest clans if they might send us healers, or at least healing supplies. We already had many injured after the fall of our Hometree, and now, after the battle, there are many more. Anything and anyone they can send would be most greatly appreciated."

He watched Neytiri as she finished relaying the last of his message, and she nodded to him. Then the noise _really_ picked up.

* * *

**There! And I hope everyone's having/had great _craic _and a wonderful St. Paddie's! Now for that all-important section you all love...Vocab!**

**Na'vi:**  
_**tawtute / sawtute **_**- sky person/people, human(s)**  
_**Eywa'eveng**_** - Pandora**  
_**'ite**_** - daughter**  
_**uniltìrantokx **_**- dreamwalker body/ empty avatar**  
_**Kaltxì**_** - "Hello"**  
_**pa'li **_**- direhorse**  
_**kunsìp**_** - gunship**  
_**ayuniltìranyu **_**- dreamwalkers/ avatars**  
_**yawnetu **_**- beloved one**  
_**palulukan **_**- thanator**  
_**tswin**_** - queue**  
_**yerik **_**- hexapede**  
_**tsmuke**_** - sister**  
_**tawsìp**_** - sky ship**  
_**Ìnglìsì**_** - English language**  
_**Toruk Makto**_** - Legendary figure, rider of Toruk**  
_**tsaheylu**_** - the bond**  
_**ikran **_**- banshee (not the Irish kind ^_~)**  
_**aymakto **_**- riders**

**Irish:**  
_**craic -**_** This one is...hmm...there really isn't a translation for it, but it's a fun word that you should never use outside of Ireland. Basically, _craic_ is pronounced "crack" and means something along the lines of "a fine time, lots of fun, great people and atmosphere, and (possibly also) good drink" or any combination of the ideas listed. Generally, it's translated as "fun" but you can't have great _craic_ on your own, most people would say. Still, it's a good word to know. Especially if you're ever in the mood to visit Ireland, where you'll see things written on the sandwich boards in front of pubs like "Dooley and his boys, great crack tonight!" Now you won't assume (as I, at 17 and fresh off the plane, did) that they were talking about illegal drugs!  
**


	43. Chapter 42: I was a Warrior who Dreamed

**OMG she lives! Yes, I know, this took far longer than anyone thought it ever could have, or SHOULD have, but I have only three words: Writer's Block is Evil!**

**...  
**

**Okay so that's four words, technically, but that's beside the point.**

**Just a couple of things before I unleash you upon the story:**

**First, let me say a great big thank you to everyone who didn't give up on me, you know who you are ^_~ Especially the reviewer who asked for backstory on Cathy and Antsu. That was the "different story" that managed to get my brain going again, so thank you ever so very much for that!**

**Second, just a little warning. In this chapter, and probably in the next couple of chapters as well, there is a fair deal of darkness that certain people *coughNORMcough* are going to have to go through. This isn't mere angst, calling it that would demean it, but I don't want to trigger anyone to be supremely upset, so although I won't reveal anything, I will say that I don't write dark stuff unendingly, and this isn't going to be a totally unhappy ending for our favourite geeky scientist. After all, Eywa still has plans for him!**

**And now, without any further ado, I present to you:  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 42: I was a Warrior who Dreamed He Could Bring Peace

After he'd sent the messengers off, Jake turned to Neytiri.

"So, I'm thinking next step is to check with the boarder patrol," he said, "make sure everyone knows what's going on and all that."

"I agree, ma Jhake," she nodded, "and also I think I must thank the one who carried me back to you properly. He said he would wait until we had gotten Tom to the healers, but I would not want to make him impatient."

Jake chuckled. "I would imagine not," he agreed, "which reminds me, I should probably also check on Toruk. I told her I'd meet her back here when she was done playing..."

"I have not seen her yet," Neytiri said, "but I will look for you with her when she returns."

He pulled her close and kissed her. "When this is all done, we're going to take a few days," he whispered, "with just me and you and loooots of privacy. Maybe we'll find our own little floating island, hmm?"

"Your plan is good," she admitted with a smile as she leaned into him, "when our time is ours we will do that, yes." She leaned in close enough that it almost seemed she was about to kiss him, then darted away, giggling, "But for now, we have things to do."

Jake laughed as he feinted a lunge toward her then shook his head. "Tease!" he called after her, watching her grace and economy of movement as she loped away back the way they had come; back toward the link-mod where her _palulukan_ had waited. Once she was totally out of sight, he sighed heartily and turned to head the other way. Time to walk the borders and catch up with his scouts. Or, well, maybe jog the borders. Or run. After all, the faster he got done, the faster he'd be back, and the faster they could get the heck out of dodge and find someplace private for some serious "quiet time".

He'd managed to run off the worst of his persistent arousal by the time he came across the party led by Taka and 'Ontu and herded quite efficiently by the cubs. He grinned, then turned to Taka, deliberately using Na'vi at first.

"_A present for me?_" he asked.

Taka grinned. "Prisoners of war, actually," he said, sticking to English but speaking so quietly that none of the humans, with their inferior ears, would hear them. "They surrendered to us, and apparently had already surrendered to Eywa. They're all unarmed. We checked."

* * *

Jody frowned with concern as a painted-up and decorated native man appeared suddenly out of the jungle. This could be good or bad, depending on the guy's mood. After all, it wasn't like the avatar had made them any promises, he'd just said he'd try to get them some concessions since they'd surrendered, and it certainly wasn't like the Na'vi had ever signed or even heard of the Geneva Convention...

He slowed his breathing, trying to listen carefully over the hiss of his exo-pak, but it didn't really help. It wasn't like he spoke Na'vi...

"_Fpioea stxeli?_" he heard the new arrival say, and he could hear amusement in the warrior's voice. The avatar replied, but too quietly for Jody to hear, so he was left with trying to interpret their expressions. Their ears were upright, they seemed relaxed, and their tails flicked now and then, but for all he knew they could have been asking "how's your family" or something similar.

The pair talked for a little while, their ears flicking now and then, and smiles and frowns flashing across their faces, and then the newcomer grinned and whistled sharply. Five more warriors seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere, and the leader strode into the center, his gaze passing over the humans with efficiency.

"Okay, who's in command?" he asked, and Jody was stunned to realize that he spoke English like...well...like a human. He peered closer at the man and suddenly realized something...this wasn't a native leader, this was another avatar! If not for the extra fingers and toes, though, he'd never have been able to tell.

"That'd be me," he spoke up. There was no sense trying to hide it, after all. Why start off with a lie? It wasn't like it would do them any favours here. "Second Lieutenant Jody Nkumo."

"Corporal Jake Sully," the avatar crouched down in front of him and held out a hand, "nice to meet you. I'm told you've surrendered. That's...unexpected."

"Yeah, well, it made sense at the time," Jody shook his head, "this whole thing's nothing but a massive cock-up anyway, I mean, you leave the forest alone, it leaves you alone, or that's what I've found since I've been here.

"Hmm," Sully nodded, "that's one way of looking at it, although of course there's always the chance you'll turn into thanator food even if you do leave well enough alone."

"Not if you're someplace the thanator wouldn't go to hunt in the first place," Jody rolled his eyes.

"Point," Sully chuckled. "I can see you're a man of logic, and clearly you aren't personally invested in this little war Quaritch started, but at the same time, I'm sure you understand I can't just let you and your troops hang around here unguarded. If nothing else, you need to be protected from any Na'vi who might not speak English and wouldn't understand that you've surrendered."

"No, I get it," Jody shook his head, "I do get it. You can't just leave recently-defected folks who were your enemies until just a few hours ago at loose ends and unguarded." He shrugged, "it's not like I have anything better to do just now anyway, and at least with some Na'vi guards around we won't get munched by any of the local flora or fauna."

That made Sully laugh again. "Right you are," he nodded, "and don't worry, we'll work out a way soon enough to get you lot back to Hell's Gate. What you want to do with yourselves after that will be very much up to you."

"Appreciate it, Corporal," Jody nodded, "you know Quaritch wouldn't have been as understanding to you."

"Well, yeah, but you'll find that the good Colonel and I have a few differences," Sully shrugged, then he got to his feet, "I'll make sure all the hunters I send to guard you on all shifts know at least some English," he said, "so if there's anything you need, food, medical supplies, you know, all those goodies covered by Geneva, just tell them and they'll pass the message along to me."

"Got it," Jody agreed, "and I look forward to talking to you again sometime, when we're somewhere a bit more...civilized."

"Right," the man snorted. "You might change your mind on what civilized is, but that'll come later."

Jody watched as the tall, blue Corporal strode casually back over to their original captors, then whistled as the woods seemed to suddenly morph into at least a dozen more tall blue bodies, all armed with bows or spears. Sure, he might still be referring to himself by his old Marine rank, but Jody had a strong suspicion that he'd just had a conversation with the highest-ranking General in the Na'vi equivalent to an army. Grinning, he shook his head. At least the guy seemed willing to treat them with decency.

"Okay," he said, "Who's still got MRE's in their packs? Seems to me it's about time we had a little lunch."

* * *

By the time he was finally able to see the massive scar of Hell's Gate mine over the trees, Norm was more than ready to set down. Frankly, if it hadn't been for the extra passengers, he knew it was likely that he might have been tempted to, at some point during his flight, just "forget" how to fly and let himself fall from the sky. At least he would've gone the same way she did, but... He shook his head. This wasn't helping any. He opened hailing frequencies again, once again using the private channel.

"Nala, you still there?" he asked.

There were a few moments of silence and then her voice came over the com. "Yup, still here," she confirmed.

"I'm almost to the base," he said, "any special instructions for where you want me to land? I've got half a dozen injured Na'vi with me, and I'm not sure where you'll want to put them..."

"There should be enough room for you on the basketball court in the avatar compound," Nala suggested. "That'll put you close enough to the avatar cabin for them to be treated there. Plus, that way you won't tip off any of the last of the Sec-ops who're heading back."

"Right," Norm nodded, (not that she could see him, of course, but it was kindof involuntary) He'd seen a couple of other Sampsons and Scorpions as he flew, and they'd tried to contact them, but he'd just pretended his radio didn't work and stayed low so they couldn't see what his cargo was. It seemed to have worked, but then, he figured they were all probably too busy trying to stay alive and get out of the battle zone to pay much attention.

He didn't have much time to ponder now, though; now he had to concentrate on landing. Flying was one thing, but landing - landing softly to minimize any damage to his precious cargo... He was gonna need every bit of borrowed skill he could come up with. As he circled around to the avatar compound he briefly closed his eyes. 'Trudy, wherever you are...a little help here?' He knew it was completely unscientific to think she could hear him, but it made him feel a little tiny bit better, at least for a moment. After all, this was Pandora, and the rules here were different. Maybe...maybe if his avatar survived and he linked to a tree he might be able to speak to her again. It was a thought worth hanging onto. At least it gave him something to hope for, and hope was a pretty precious commodity these days.

In the end, it wasn't the world's prettiest landing. He was fairly sure Trudy would've smacked him upside the head but good for the way he came down nose-first, then rocked back, but at least everyone in the back was still in one piece and there hadn't been too much of a jolt.

As he hauled himself out of the Sampson he saw two avatars pushing a large gurney toward him, and a trio of medics along with them. The avatars and two of the medics went immediately to the cargo bay, but the third medic came to him.

"Come on, let's get you inside," the man said, taking Norm by the shoulder and trying to lead him back toward the compound.

"No," Norm shook his head, "I'm fine, don't worry about me. You need to take care of the Na'vi wounded I brought in first." He tried to shake the man off, but his grip was unexpectedly strong.

"They've got your passengers," the medic shook his head, "and your avatar, but if you were linked in when it was shot, you need to be checked out. You might've suffered neural or cardiac trauma."

"I'm. Fine." Norm said firmly. "I'll get checked out later, I promise, but they're more important than me right now."

"Pallor, sweating, irregular pulse and denial," the medic listed, as if talking to someone else, then frowned sternly at him. "No, you can't wait."

Norm was suddenly aware of something being pressed against his neck and then the world went fuzzy around the edges. "Sneaky bastard," he slurred as he lost consciousness.

* * *

After having finally handed off his captured prisoners of war off to someone who was much better suited to handle them - namely Jake - Taka and the cubs headed off on a much more important mission to all of them... Finding Louise. He was fairly sure she would probably be around where all the healers were, since she'd said that she wanted to help by processing herbs for medicines, but... Well, the healers seemed to be everywhere, really. It should not have surprised him. After all, they were in the aftermath of what could easily be called an epic battle, and of course intellectually he'd known there would be injuries and casualties, but the reality of it was... He bit his lip and had to look away with a shudder from one man who was covered over more than half his body with deep burns.

He scanned the crowd for Louise's familiar black tank top and khaki pants, but all he saw was blue, blue and more blue, interspersed with bright patches of colour...but no khaki and definitely no black top!

«_What Daddy is looking for?_» Ama asked as she sidled up next to him, purring happily.

"I'm looking for your mommy," Taka shook his head with a smile. He could tell the cubs were pretty proud of themselves for the job they'd done in catching and herding the squad of Sec-ops back here, and he wasn't going to correct them. After all, he was pretty proud of them too.

«_Many bluepeople,_» Ama agreed, «_and Mommy is only one. We will find!_» Her quills flared and she turned her head, clearly scanning the crowd for Louise. It took only half a minute until she bounced happily. «_Here!_» she said, and Taka looked in the direction she was looking.

"I don't see her," he frowned. There were quite a few women crouched and seemingly working on something...preparing herbs?...but none of them was wearing avatar clothing.

«_Here! Now Daddy can see?_» Ama asked, and all of a sudden Taka realized his vision was overlaid with a kind of...well, he didn't really know how to describe it, but it was almost like an afterimage or aura around each body. Was this how the cubs saw the world? He blinked a couple of times, accustoming himself to the strange way of viewing the world, and then realized that one of the afterimage/auras carried the sense of "Mommy" in Ama's mind.

She clearly wasn't wearing what she'd been wearing when he left, but he trusted the young thanator's senses almost better than his own. "I see now," he nodded, "thank you, Ama-_chan_."

Taka could sense that Ama (and probably the other cubs as well) wanted very much to run over to where Louise was, but they resisted, staying close to him instead. He was just as glad that they did, really. He'd heard about how Mo'at had introduced them, but there were even more people here now than had been here when they were shown to the clans, and besides that, everyone was likely jumpy after the events of the day, and the last thing they needed was to be surprised and frightened by animals they would normally be wary of, if not outright fear.

When they neared the group Louise was sitting with, Taka was very careful to approach from behind her. Now that he was closer, he did recognize the familiar contours of her body, mostly-unhidden beneath the sparse coverings of traditional Na'vi dress. "That's a new look for you," he said as he knelt behind her. He couldn't help the undertones of arousal in his voice; she looked _really_ good.

She turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised, but there was a grin on her face. "You like?" she asked, preening just a little.

"I very much like," he agreed, wrapping his arms around her from behind, "but I almost couldn't find you dressed like this. Where'd the new wardrobe come from?"

"I borrowed a few pieces from the healers," she smiled, leaning back into his embrace, "it's a long story, and I still have a bunch of herbs to process, I'll tell you later, mkay?" She turned her head to kiss his cheek and the rest of the women and men she was sitting with (healers? He guessed they must be, although he only recognized a couple of them.) giggled and politely averted their eyes.

"_Go, ma tsmuke,_" Prrala shook her head, "_We can finish this batch, and you must spend time with your mate now that he has returned from the battle unharmed._"

"_I would not want you to think I was abandoning you,_" Louise bit her lip, "_There is still a lot here to be processed, and your skilled hands have more uses than mine._"

"_Go!_" Tun'ut laughed, making shooing gestures at her, "_and take your flattering tongue away with you. It is past time you were resting in any case, after your busy day. If not for yourself than for the extra passenger you have with you._"

"_Alright, alright,_" Louise shook her head and rolled her eyes. "_Come, Taka, I know when I'm not wanted._"

She got to her feet, trying not to show the stiffness in her muscles that remained from her own rather epic battle earlier that day, and walked over to where the cubs had waited for them to finish talking to the group. Even with the hints of discomfort in her gait, Taka still couldn't take his eyes off her as she ran her hands over their eager faces as they nuzzled against her, and when she turned to look back at him with a raised eyebrow he laughed.

"Well, are you coming or not?" she asked.

"I'm coming, _koi_, I'm coming," he laughed, jumping to his feet to catch up to her and wrapping an arm (and his tail) around her waist.

She leaned her head against his shoulder and let out a sigh. "I'm glad you're back in one piece," she said. Quietly, but he still heard it clearly with his superior senses in this body.

"The _chibi-tachi_ and I kept each other safe," he shrugged, rubbing her hip soothingly. The fact that most of what he was rubbing was skin was...faintly distracting. "So what _is_ the story with the new outfit?" he asked. "It must be quite something, from the knowing looks you were getting from your new friends. Did you perhaps fall in a gigantic mud puddle or something?"

"Not even!" she swatted him with her tail, "I'll have you know I helped bring new life into the world while everyone else was up there killing and being killed."

He stopped in his tracks and turned her to look in her eyes. "You...helped deliver a baby?"

"I did," she nodded; then shook her head. "It wasn't exactly what I had planned for the afternoon, but the lady just wouldn't wait, and Pameyä was the only midwife they found in time, so I got press-ganged. I didn't mind, but things got...a bit mucky."

"I can only imagine." It wasn't exactly an intelligent response, but it was the only thing Taka could think to say.

She laughed lightly and kissed his cheek. "You really don't want to know the details," she said, "besides; I'm not even sure whether you're allowed to know, culturally speaking. I wouldn't want to break any taboos, after all."

"Of course," he nodded quickly. Frankly he was just as glad not to get the blow-by-blow, at least for now. When her time came closer, though, he suspected it would be a different story.

"Oh!" she said suddenly, her eyes going wide, "I almost forgot! I can't _believe_ I almost forgot..."

"Almost forgot what?" he asked as she turned to keep them walking back toward the area that they had claimed as their own.

"I have a surprise for you," she said, a secretive little smile passing over her face. "Not here, though. You have to wait until we're somewhere a little more private."

"Oh?" He found his fingers sliding along the subtle curve of her waist, marvelling once again at the delicate softness of her skin.

"Yes," she nodded, stilling his fingers and interlacing her own with them.

She said nothing else until they got to their sleeping area. Instead, once she had pulled the leaves back into position to keep them hidden, she went to her knees, pulling him down as well, and then leaned in to kiss him and gently pull his queue forward. He pulled back slightly from the kiss to raise an eyebrow at her, but he didn't object as she brought her own queue forward to link with his.

There was the usual rush of sensation, of another body coming in sync with his own, and he leaned back in to kiss her more deeply, revelling in the way he could tell the moment when her hormones spiked in answer to his own and her body responded to his. She kissed him back, but before long she brought her hand up and pushed him back ever-so-slightly to break the kiss.

"What is it?" he frowned, confused. Even within the bond of _tsaheylu_, not everything in her mind was open to him, after all.

"This," was all she said, and then her eyes closed and her consciousness seemed to draw his deeper within her. At first he didn't understand, but then all of a sudden he felt something. A different emotion set fluttering delicately. He got the sense of sleepy/content and then as fast as he had noticed it, it was gone again.

He opened his eyes and gasped in sudden realization. "That's..."

"That's our baby, yes," Louise nodded.

He had no words. At least, not at first. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against him and buried his nose in her hair, breathing in the soft, floral, faintly-sweaty scent of her as if it was all he needed to live. Finally he managed to muster his voice again. "Incredible," he whispered, "that's absolutely incredible."

* * *

Once he'd finished making his right royal mess, Max had driven the slash-cutter back to where he'd gotten it. Totally illogical, he knew, but hey, he might as well put the thing back. No sense leaving themselves more of a mess than they needed to, after all. As he hopped down from the cab, a big grin on his face, his eyes met Kater's, the Mine Chief having apparently decided that the entertainment was over for the moment.

"Looks like things worked out about like you hoped," the older man raised an eyebrow at him.

Max slipped his glasses off, using the tails of his lab coat to clean the lenses. He suspected he had a smug sort of expression on his face. "It pretty much did, yes," he agreed, "although it was hardly just me. I appreciated the loan, though," he said as he put his glasses back on and tossed the keys back.

Kater grabbed them out of the air and slipped them back into his pocket, then shrugged. "Like I said, I had nothing left to lose either way." He half-smiled, but Max could see pain in the lines around his eyes. "Place's already killed me, after all. Just waiting to die, might's well go out with both middle fingers firmly up the company's ass."

Max blinked. "Dying?" he asked carefully.

"Cancer," the man shrugged. "Price we pay for raping this moon. Even the folk that do get to go home usually don't live to enjoy their bonus."

Max nodded. He'd heard about the high cancer rates among the miners, although he knew the company executive did everything they could to downplay it. "I take it, then, that it's too advanced for them to have put you in cryo to fly you home?"

"Smart _boykie_," Kater said, giving a nonchalant shrug. "It isn't like I've anything to go "home" to anyway. Not like I left a wife or any little _kinders_ who expect me back."

Max nodded. "Well, now that we've taken control of Hell's Gate, the plan is to send everyone else home. I suppose we can make some exceptions though, and after all, you did provide invaluable assistance to our cause."

"I don't take charity, _boykie_," Kater frowned, and Max shook his head quickly.

"That wasn't what I meant," he corrected quickly, "that's just what the explanation will be for Parker. You have to know that as soon as word reaches Earth of what we've done we'll be considered traitors by certain factions."

"And heroes by others," Kater agreed, "I know. And frankly I don't care what they call me. It isn't as though I'm ever going to have to answer to them. Besides, I'd rather be where I can be some use. You're going to need an engineer or two to keep things running. I may not have much time left, but that doesn't mean I don't have any. I can take on an apprentice or two. Be nice to feel like someone wants to hear what I have to say, you know?"

"Right," Max nodded, grinning. "You're a better man than you let on, Kater."

"Watch your mouth," Kater snapped. "Now unless you need something I need to get something to eat. Watching you all upset the biggest company in the solar system makes a man hungry."

"Go on," Max laughed, "Although we've cleared out the cafeteria workers for the moment."

"I know how to serve myself," was the last thing Max heard as the door closed.

* * *

While their "parents" were busy having private time, Ama, Tsuki and Sano crept into the forest nearby. There was an interesting scent that they wanted to investigate, although they didn't want to move in too quickly. There was the scent of a young, unmated male in the area that hadn't been there when they left this morning to go on patrol, and they were concerned. The area hadn't been marked as belonging to the territory of any of the people, and from what they could remember having been told as babies, the area around the mother-tree was neutral ground, but at the same time, approaching a female while traveling was quite a different thing from approaching a young, unmated male.

As they peered into the clearing they couldn't help noticing the strange metal body. It smelled of skypeople-meat, but they mutually agreed that they wouldn't touch it. It wouldn't do to try to steal someone else's meat, for one thing, and besides, they didn't want to try to pry open the weird metal body. Leave that to the stronger one. Seeing no immediate threat, they carefully ventured into the clearing, giving the metal body a wide berth as they crossed to where they sensed the male was, just beyond sight behind a large rock.

They weren't the only ones coming into the clearing, though. All three cubs suddenly became aware, when they were most of the way around to the rock, that Auntie Ney was just coming out of the trees as well. This wasn't good! What if the grown male tried to make Auntie Ney his food! Without even the need to link, just using body language and the low grumbles of their people, the three bolted for her, placing themselves firmly between Auntie Ney and the male, their frills on full display, doing their best to look as large and intimidating as they could.

Ama should not have been surprised when Auntie Ney linked with her, and really she wasn't, except that Auntie Ney wasn't making any fear-smell, and with a grown male so close...even just with how they had gone so protective, it should at least have worried her.

«_It is alright, Ama,_» Auntie Ney told her, «_You do not need to protect me. This one is a friend, of sorts. He was my partner in the fight against the sky people._»

«_Auntie Ney knows male?_» Ama asked carefully, «_Trusts male?_»

«_I do,_» Auntie Ney stroked her shoulder where it was tight with tension, «_I came here to speak with him, he's expecting me._»

This was very strange, but then, this had been a strange day. Maybe the Big Tree-mother had spoken to the male the same way she had spoken to them... After considering for a moment, Ama told her sibs that it was alright and that they could let Auntie Ney go talk to the male. They were going to watch carefully though. Any sign that he might try to attack and they would remind him that they had claws. After all, they liked Uncle Jake, and they knew he would be sad if Auntie Ney got hurt.

They watched carefully as Auntie Ney walked forward and the male's form rose from behind the rocks. He didn't stalk, however. He just stretched, moved closer to her where there was a pool of sunlight, and stretched out in it, making room for her in the warm spot and offering his _tswin_ politely. It was a very strange sight indeed! The three cubs, seeing that things seemed to be safe, just as Auntie Ney had said they would be, moved into the sunlight as well, although on the far side of it. Keeping the unusual pair in sight, they curled up together, waiting their turn to speak with the young male.

The sun had crept some distance before Auntie Ney got to her feet again with a smile and turned to leave the clearing. It looked like she was in a hurry, so Ama didn't try to ask her anything more about the male. Instead, she nudged her siblings and all three got to their feet, cautiously approaching the male, who continued to lounge casually. He was clearly aware of them, but their presence didn't seem to bother him at all. It certainly didn't stop him from rolling onto his back, all six legs splayed, to bask his belly in the sunlight.

As the three cubs drew closer, he still lay on his back, but one _tswin_ managed to direct itself their way, and Ama, being the usual leader of the group, linked hers with it, composing herself on the ground just out of reach of his jaws.

«_My blueperson says that you three are a part of her sleep-group,_» The male said, the curiosity clear in his voice, «_How does it come to be that three children of the People are among the bluepeople instead of with their proper family?_»

«_It is a strange thing, I know,_» Ama admitted, «_The story is something like this..._» She explained carefully to him, with occasional comments and additions from her siblings, how their mother had died and the Big Tree-momma had told them that their new Daddy would save them, and how their new family had traveled to help the bluepeople who had been trapped under the big tree when it fell. It was a complicated story, but he didn't interrupt her until she'd gotten through the whole thing, even the patrol they'd been on this morning and how they'd helped capture skypeople fighters that had given up.

«_Well,_» he said finally, when the story was over, «_You three are most unusual. But then again, I just spent the day hunting with a blueperson on my back, of all things, so I suppose I can't really speak to "unusual", at least, not anymore._»

«_Will you stay with Auntie Ney?_» Tsuki asked curiously.

«_I may, for a time,_» the male said with a shrug, «_She interests me, and perhaps it is time that some of the People made efforts to better understand the bluepeople. Besides, I was always curious about the tales my own mother told of the faraway places where bluepeople and our People lived in harmony and aided one another from time to time._»

«_I have never heard such stories,_» Sano said, «_But we were so little still when our First-momma died..._»

«_Perhaps I should tell them to you then,_» the Male suggested.

«_You don't mind?_» Ama asked carefully.

«_Of course I don't mind,_» he chuckled. «_Besides, it isn't right for children to grow up not knowing the tales of their own People, no matter how hard your new father is working to raise you. If we are going to share a sleeping-place, though, we should at least know how to call each other. I am Eater-of-Darkness._»

«_Ama!_»

«_Tsuki!_»

«_Sano!_»

The three cubs chimed in quickly, «_Now please, tell us the story?_» They snuggled in close against him and settled in, put very much at ease now that a story was to be told.

* * *

From his vantage point high above the compound, Will watched as each Sampson and Scorpion came flying in, was surrounded by avatars with guns, and its occupant or occupants herded up, disarmed and led inside, presumably to be contained somewhere, injuries treated and whatever else they needed.

Finally there were no more to arrive, and the decimated ranks of helos scattered across the tarmac bore mute witness to the incredible battle that had led to their defeat. Will shook his head and said a small prayer to whomever it was that listened to such things around here for the souls of all his slain comrades. Former comrades. Well anyway they were all human, and Will was sure not all of them had gone into the fight without some misgivings in their hearts. Surely whoever took care of souls around these parts would take that into account... Anyway, he was just in the middle of this when his radio crackled to life.

"Hello there, friend," came a cheerful female voice. Nobody he recognised, but, quite frankly, that didn't surprise him one bit, "can you hear me?"

"Hello," he said, "I can hear you just fine."

"Oh good," she replied, and he could hear both relief and amusement in her voice. "It seems your tower is the only one that has anyone in it, which means you must be the kind fellow who fended off our attackers when we were making giant targets of ourselves running across the compound."

Ah, so she was one of the avatars. "Yes, that would've been me," he laughed.

"Oh good," she said, "in that case, I'd like to invite you to a little party out on the rather big parking lot in front of us, now that all the others have been put away somewhere safe. I, for one, would like to meet my saviour in the flesh, you know."

"Alright then," Will agreed, "I'll be down in just a couple ticks."

He could hear her laughter over the radio for a moment before the channel was shut, and he had to laugh too. Clearly she was riding an adrenaline high after the day's events. Not that he blamed her, really. Especially for those inexperienced with the rush of battle, there was a certain tendency toward hysteria after. Oh well. He wasn't going to burst her bubble. He gathered up his things and headed down to the base of the tower.

When he'd gotten his exo-pak on and stepped out of the airlock, he was surprised to see what looked to be at least half the contingent of avatars crouching on the tarmac grinning at him.

"I have to say, the help was unexpected, but very, very welcome," one of them male avatars - one of the men, he corrected himself - said as he leaned forward, offering his hand to shake. "Xander Montague."

"Will Winram," Will took the man's hand, relieved at the light handshake. He knew well and good that the average avatar had strength five times that of the average human, but he supposed they must have learned the limits of their strength when dealing with their fellow humans whilst they were in their big blue bodies. "And no need to thank me really. I was just doing what I felt was right. It's not like you should be surprised I was on your side. After all, my conscience is the reason I was grounded in the first place. I should've, by all rights, been at my post in the Dragon this morning."

"It's just as well you weren't," the female avatar among the group - this must've been the one he'd been talking to over the radio, she sounded the same anyway - said with a slow shake of her head and a sympathetic look. "The dragon went down with all hands. From the reports we've gotten from the battlefield the explosion when it hit didn't leave anyone alive, and there wasn't time for the pilot or co-pilot to eject. I'm sorry. It's never easy to lose friends, or people you've worked with, even."

Will sighed, but he shook his head. "They went down for a cause they believed in, even if it was wrong-headed by our point of view," he said. "Besides, all us Sec-Ops are ex-military anyway. We know what we're getting into when we go into battle. Just because your opponent doesn't share your level of technology is never a reason to underestimate them, especially when they're defending their home. Not everyone remembers that, but you know what they say, those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it."

"True enough," another of the avatar men nodded. "But we're getting altogether morose here, and I thought this was supposed to be a party!"

"True enough!" the one who'd introduced himself as "Xander" laughed. "And in the aid of a party atmosphere, I have just the thing." He pulled out a bunch of large sample jars full of liquid from a bag he'd had slung over his shoulder and passed them around to his fellow blue sorts, then dug around a little more and found a bottle of gin, which he handed to Will. "Sorry, I didn't think to grab any glasses, so you'll just have to be uncultured and drink from the bottle."

Will shrugged. "It isn't like my mother's watching," he pointed out.

"Dare I ask?" the woman raised an eyebrow at Xander as she swirled the contents of her jar, which seemed to have a thick, milky sheen, as though there was some kind of very fine particulate suspended in the liquid.

"Grandad was a wizard with a still," Xander grinned, "and he taught me the craft before I was ten. Plus, I managed to have enough contact with the Na'vi around my parts to find out what plants they use, so..."

"Well, I'm game," the woman laughed, uncapping her specimen jar and taking a sniff. "Smells pretty much like the stuff I had at the housewarming party that the Omatikaya brought."

"In that case, I say bottoms up," Will cracked the cap off his bottle of gin and raised it in the air. "To us rebel types," he said, "and the Na'vi, too, for managing to kick our friends' sorry pink arses off their land."

"To rebellion!" the rest echoed, raising their drinks as well and taking a healthy slug. An action which was followed by a good deal of coughing and choking and blinking of eyes.

"Damn that's strong stuff!" one of the other men said, shaking his head hard. He didn't complain for long, though, and simply took his next sip a little slower and more carefully.

Will just laughed at them and took another draw at the gin.

* * *

As the afternoon of that day began to move into the evening, far away from the battle at the _kelutral_ of the Anurai clan the _tsahìk_, 'Anansi, sat up suddenly from her meditations. She knew that it was now time to speak to a certain young potter about a vision she had seen and prepare to send her on the way to her destiny. Uncurling herself from within the alcove she used when she needed privacy to understand the words of Eywa, she made her way down the central spiral staircase of her tree home with good speed but not fast enough to worry anyone. At this time of day, she expected to find Me'lina with those potters cleaning up from the day's work, and indeed, the young woman was down with a small crowd of her sister- and brother-potters kneeling at the stream, her arms fully immersed and trailing long plumes of white clay sediment into the water as she scrubbed them clean.

"_I See you, Me'lina. I do not mean to interrupt you,_" 'Anansi said with a smile as she crouched next to Me'lina, "_but there is something we need to speak about. It isn't anything bad,_" she added quickly as she caught Me'lina's worried look.

"_Of course, Tsahìk,_" Me'lina nodded, quickly rinsing the last of the clay off her arms and rubbing her hands together to make sure that they, too, were clean before rising to her feet.

When they had moved far enough away from the crowd that their conversation would not be overheard, Anansi placed a hand on Me'lina's shoulder to stop her. The young potter bit her lip, obviously still concerned about what it was that had attracted 'Anansi's attention to her.

"_You needn't be troubled,_" 'Anansi reassured her again. "_I do not doubt that soon, if things have gone as the trees whisper they have, we will be receiving news of the battle against the sawtute,_" she began, "_and when that messenger arrives, I plan to send him or her back with what supplies the clan can spare, but before I do that, you must depart. The Great Mother has shown me that you have an important journey to undertake, and time is of the essence if it is to be successful._"

"_A journey? Me?_" Me'lina gave her a confused look, "_I am simply a potter - I have some skill, but I am one of many - what is it I will be expected to accomplish?_"

'Anansi shook her head and smiled gently at the girl. "_You will know when you stumble upon the reason for your journey and not before,_" she said, "_but seeing that you must travel toward Vitrautral, surely there is something there you may be able to help with, or someone you may be able to find and return to the People._"

"_But surely anyone could do that,_" Me'lina pointed out.

"_Indeed, anyone could, but it was not anyone whom the Great Mother indicated, but you. All of us must someday find our place within meoauniaea, ma 'ite, perhaps this is your time to find that place._"

"_Perhaps,_" Me'lina admitted. After all, how could anyone argue with that kind of statement? "_If I am to travel so far, I will need a pa'li to ride and some supplies._"

"_Of course,_" 'Anansi agreed, "_and I will send basic healing supplies with you also. If you are going into an area where a battle has taken place, there is no doubt you may come across those who need such things. At least you will be able to do a little for them. Your mother was a healer, after all, and if I remember she did teach you some of the craft before your eyes and hands were forever drawn to the shaping of clay._"

"_She was, and she did,_" Me'lina nodded, "_and you are right, if I do come across injured warriors it would be best if I were prepared to help them, even if only a little._"

"_Then I will prepare your pa'li and the supplies you will need. You should pack any personal items and meet me at the pa'li meadow. Do not tarry. Every heartbeat of delay is crucial._"

"_I will be as fast as I may,_" Me'lina nodded and scurried off, heading back toward _kelutral_ and her sleeping area as quickly as she could manage.

'Anansi sighed as she watched the girl go. She only hoped she had interpreted her vision correctly as far as the time when Me'lina must depart. She had the feeling a lot was riding on the potter being in a particular place at just the right time.

* * *

That evening, after they had all eaten dinner, Neytiri went with Jhake to check up on Tom, Peyral and the others who lay injured and in the care of the healers. The number of injured was many, and even now, hours after the battle, there were warriors being brought in who had just been found. There was much hurt, but overall, Jhake said, and she agreed, it could have been far worse. At least Tom seemed to be doing well; and Peyral also, although she had been asleep the whole time they were visiting. Neytiri suspected that the healers were giving Peyral a little help to remain asleep for as much of the time as possible, since she had a known tendency to shrug off injuries and not spend as much time resting as the healers would like. Tom's thinking seemed to be much clearer now than it had been when she had helped bring him to the healers after finding his _uniltirantokx_ injured near the place where she had shot the evil _tawtute_, although he seemed to trail off and get quite easily distracted by Ninat's presence. But then, they, too, were newly mated, so Neytiri suspected that had little to do with his injured head and much to do with his heart and the instinctive need to spend as much time drowned in the scent and body of his mate as possible.

And speaking of such things, she really ought to take her own mate aside and speak to him about a few things, especially the things she had almost told him about last night before the battle but had held back out of worry for his focus today. Now that the battle was over, it was past time that he learned what she knew, or at least what her mother suspected and she strongly suspected as well. It was too early to know for sure yet, of course, but they really should be discussing and planning for this together.

"Ma Jhake," she leaned over to whisper in his ear, "maybe we should leave your brother to rest. There are things we should speak about in private..."

"Right, of course," he smirked at her, "We should do that, definitely."

She knew that look, and that wasn't precisely why she wanted him alone, but it was as good a pretence as any.

With warriors from so many clans still clustered around _Vitrautral_, it wasn't exactly easy or quick to find a private place where they could talk without being overheard, and after having already run into three couples in seemingly private spots clearly they were behind in the race, but eventually they managed to find a place that was both private and far enough away from others that they probably wouldn't be heard if they happened to raise their voices a bit. Frankly, Neytiri was quite aware of the fact that Jake might take objection to what he was about to find out, and she wanted to save them both the embarrassment of having their business become the talk of the clan. Not that it wasn't already, but this particular business she really wanted to keep between them until it was obvious one way or another.

"Thank God," Jake sighed as he looked around them, "I thought we were never going to find a place to ourselves!" He smirked and pulled her against him for a kiss, "Now, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

Neytiri sighed as she resisted the urge to just let him draw her into the intensity that seemed to quiver between their bodies like a plucked bowstring the moment they got any kind of time to themselves, although she did let herself relax a little into the kiss. Before it could go any further than that, though, she shook her head and took a deep breath. "Ma Jhake, there was something that I was going to tell you last night... Something I know I _should_ have told you, but I didn't want to worry you, and..."

"And what?" Jake asked, a frown beginning to form, replacing the relaxed smile he had been wearing.

"And I know that you might say to me that I could not be in the battle if you worried, and you needed me there, Jhake; you needed every warrior to be there today."

"Okay," Jake said, his frown not moving. At least, Neytiri thought to herself, it hadn't increased. Yet. It still might. "So what is it that you were going to tell me last night that you decided not to in case it meant I made the probably smart decision to keep you out of the battle?"

"Well," she hedged, "you see, I and Mother spoke last night, before I came to get you as you were speaking to Eywa, and I asked her about this..._need_ that is between us..."

That made Jake chuckle slightly. "Right," he nodded, "I guess that's something a girl would talk to her mother about, although I hope you didn't give her too many details or I won't be able to look Mo'at in the eyes ever again."

"Of course not!" Neytiri objected, "And it isn't as though I've minded all the attention you give me..." She could feel every _tanhì_ on her body flaming to life...this was not how she'd meant the conversation to be going.

"Good," he nodded, "because I have no intention of stopping any of the attention. Remember, I can feel how good it makes both of us feel," he added with a smile.

"I know," she smiled back. Perhaps this wouldn't go so badly after all. "It's just...more than what I had been led to expect from speaking with other childhood friends who were mated before I was. In any case, Mother said that it's likely that we need each other so often because maybe I..." She broke off. Even now she was having a hard time thinking the words, let alone saying them out loud to her mate.

Jake's frown returned, although now it looked slightly confused.

"_Because maybe I will have a baby,_" she blurted out in rapid-fire Na'vi. She wasn't sure whether he had understood her at first, because his expression didn't really change and he just stood there looking at her, but clearly he'd heard and understood enough to put the pieces together. His frown deepened, the confusion vanishing as his ears laid back in a clear show of anger. Her gaze glanced down to his hands, which were balled into tight fists and held firmly at his sides, and he had yet to speak, or even make any sort of sound.

As she raised her eyes to his face again, Neytiri shivered. She had never seen him so angry, and it was somehow the most terrifying thing she could ever imagine; worse than looking down the hungry maw of a _palulukan_.

"Damn," he muttered, finally breaking his silence, "and Taka even warned me, too. Fucking shit." He took a deep, shaking breath, clearly trying to control himself, and looked at her. "You're trying to tell me that you might be pregnant, and you knew this _last night_..." he bit the words out sharply, then took another deep breath, "and even though you knew, you didn't tell me, and you still went into battle this morning - a battle, if I might point out, where you almost got yourself _killed_..." His stillness suddenly broke as he spun to slam one fist hard into the bark of the tree nearest him. "SHIT!"

"_Ma Jhake..._" She reached hesitantly to lay a hand on his shaking shoulders, "I am still here, all is well..."

She could feel the muscles twitch beneath his skin, and his tail lashed in reflection of his strong emotion. "No," he said finally, "no all is not fucking well. What if I'd lost you today? Did you think about that? What if I'd lost you and then found out about this after? Do you have any idea what that would have done to me? You mean everything to me, and now that you might be carrying a child - _our_ child... Plus, think what it would've done to your mother! She's already lost one daughter, and her husband, if she'd lost you... Did you even think of any of us? And we _did_ almost lose you today; you can't try to deny the fact that before the animals started attacking for us you were about to go on a stupidly suicidal last-stand rush against a force you knew you couldn't beat. How could you do something like that, when you knew?"

As her initial shock at seeing her mate's anger began to fade, Neytiri's own temper started to flare. "I think you forget, _ma Jhake_, that you may be a warrior but I, also, am a warrior," she pointed out, "and if I had told you this last night it would have troubled you all through the battle, worrying for my safety as I fought."

"I would've made you stay right the fuck here where you were safe," he hissed.

"And you think I would have stayed when all fought for the freedom of my people - of _our_ people?" she hissed back at him, "you insult me! Even if you said I should stay how would you make me not come after once you were in the sky?"

"I would've thought of something," Jake shook his head, "I can be a sneaky bastard when I have to."

"And you would be dead," Neytiri pointed out, "If I had not been here to shoot the insane _tawtute_ as he tried to kill you."

"Shit," Jake breathed, all the fight and anger and tension seeming to flow out of his body from where her hand still rested on his shoulder. He turned and sank to the ground against the tree, covering his face with his hands; "Shit, goddamned fucking Quaritch..." He shook his head and scrubbed at his face with his fingers. "No fair using fucking logic I can't argue with."

"_Ma Jhake_?" she crouched next to him, concerned.

"Just...promise me you'll never do something that stupid _ever again_!" he insisted, reaching an arm out without raising his head and pulling her off-balance against him. "Promise me you won't put yourself in danger for me," he mumbled into her hair, "I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you. Promise me!"

Neytiri just sighed and stroked his back soothingly. She knew she couldn't make that promise. He was far too dear to her for her not to step in to protect him if she thought he was in danger, and sooner or later something would come up. Still... "I will try my best," she said finally. It wasn't what he truly wanted to hear, and she knew it, but she also knew that he was a realistic man and would take what he could get. She also knew she was going to have to work very hard not to give him any reasons to try to confine her to "keep her safe" now that he knew of the possibility that she might be - or could soon be - with child.

She sat quietly next to him and watched and felt him finally beginning to calm, his breathing slowing and the desperate trembling beneath his skin beginning to fade away, and then finally he spoke again.

"We...so you seriously think we might be having a baby?" he asked, a hint of wonder in his voice.

Neytiri resisted the urge to giggle. How like every male she had ever known, to focus on that part of the conversation and forget the rest of it ever happened. But then again, perhaps that was for the best. She didn't want to ever see him that angry again, at least, certainly not at her.

"As Grace would say, evidence points in that direction," she smiled at him instead, "although maybe it is not yet planted within me...I do not know how long these things take, or how to tell when the excitement of new mating ended and the need of readiness started." She turned to him, a sly smile on her face. "We have a private space here, and the whole night to ourselves...perhaps we might just...make sure? If you want a child, of course," she added, biting her lip, "I know it is soon, and so much has happened between us..."

"_Skxawng_," he laughed affectionately, "wasn't it obvious from my...er...outburst earlier that I would love nothing better than seeing you with a baby? Or even two or three?" He grinned, and the grin swiftly turned into that certain look which she knew meant she wasn't going anywhere for the next few hours. "I wonder if we get more if we spend more time working at it. I'm sortof almost a scientist now, after the last three months hanging around with Grace, why don't we call it an experiment?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her and now she had to laugh.

"I am not the _skxawng_," she corrected, "that is you. And you show it once again with your silly..." she was going to find some way to mangle the word "experiment" but before she could manage it, his lips closed over hers, and then there was a distinct lack of talking for quite some time. Other sounds, perhaps, but no talking.

* * *

Tseo'ong sighed and shifted uncomfortably. It had been a difficult day for him. Even though there was nothing he could have done to help in the fight it rankled to have to just lie there and listen to the battle overhead, to listen to what he knew had to be brothers and sisters of his clan being injured and dying, and then he had to continue to lie there as the healers worked themselves to the bone trying to heal the injured. He had grown up around healers and midwives; he knew their habits and their tendency to put the needs of those they cared for before their own needs, even to the point of exhaustion. Especially the younger healers, who hadn't yet learned to accept that sometimes when Eywa has called someone home there is nothing to be done but ease the way for them.

It had been hard, at first, to keep himself distracted from worrying about his friends who fought, and then about his friends who had been injured in the fight, but as the day wore on into evening and the light dimmed, his priorities abruptly changed. It all started with a faint tingle down the length of his tail. He almost wasn't aware of it at first, it just felt like the frond of a fern lightly brushing him, and of course, it felt so normal that he'd nearly forgotten he wasn't supposed to be feeling anything with the lower part of his tail anymore. As he remembered that, he closed his eyes in concentration and managed to twitch the end of his tail just slightly. A thrill of excitement went through him, and he almost called out to a friend nearby to share his good news, but very quickly the sensation went from a faint tingle to a sharp stinging, far worse than any time he had felt a limb come back to life after being still for too long.

It would go away. He kept telling himself to just ride through the pain and that soon it would become less again, but all the things one usually did to wake a sleeping limb were no good. Twitching his tail only seemed to make it hurt more, and he knew better than to try to move his still-injured tail enough to bring it into his hands to be massaged. Still, he didn't want to trouble the healers, who were more than busy enough with patients who had much more dire needs than his own, so he bit his lip to keep from moaning with the pain and picked up the weaving supplies one of his friends had brought him to keep him entertained during his confinement. For now, he would concentrate on the most intricate braids he could remember, to keep his mind occupied.

* * *

Prrala sat up from her latest patient, rolling her shoulders and letting her head loll forward, then back, trying to get the blood flowing in an effort to regain alertness and focus. The day had been so exhausting that she almost couldn't see straight, although the change in position did help a bit. She took a drink from a water gourd someone handed to her and then, feeling refreshed, began to look around for the next patient needing her help.

"_You should get some rest,_" Tun'ut said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder, "_it will do us no good if you make yourself sick before you make everyone else well._"

"_I am fine,_" she shook her head; "_I can treat at least one more patient before I sleep._"

"_Alright,_" Tun'ut nodded, "_in that case, why don't you go check on your original patient over there. He seems to be in some distress._"

She followed Tun'ut's gaze over to where Tseo'ong lay, and as she directed her attention toward him she became aware of the fact that he was obviously whimpering in suppressed pain, and his forehead was deeply creased with a frown.

"_What is that skxawng doing?_" she muttered as she quickly got to her feet and hurried over to him, "_If he was in pain why did he not call out?_" She knelt beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder to get his attention, concerned that he didn't even notice her until she did so. "_What pains you?_" she asked in the most professional tone she could manage given how tired she was.

"_I'm fine,_" he insisted, "_My tail hurts some but I just need to let it come awake on its own. You don't need to do anything, go back to sleep._"

"_I was not sleeping,_" she shook her head, then processed the rest of what he'd said. "_Your tail is coming awake?_" she blinked; then gasped as she saw him twitch the end of his tail, sending the tuft flipping weakly across the back of one calf. "_You should have said something right away!_" she chided him excitedly, her fingers moving to the bandages which immobilized the area that had been kinked. Carefully and professionally, with hands that ached from all their overuse this long, intense day, she unwound the bandages. She had to check to make sure that there were no blockages for the toxins that his long-disused muscles were even now releasing into his system, and he should have a cup of pain-tea, but first...

As gently as she could, she massaged his tail back to life, starting at the tip and working her way up to the base, being extra careful around the still-bruised portions that were no doubt very tender, then she pressed a couple of nerve clusters in his lower back which she knew would relieve the sensation temporarily. Once all this was done, she carefully re-wrapped the bruised areas, applying new numbing ointment, although she kept the wrappings much looser than they had been.

"_I will be right back,_" she said, leaning over next to him so that she could see his face and get an assessment of his condition in that way, "_you need pain-tea and rest, but I believe that the Great Mother may have given you a small miracle this day._"

"_No, don't go,_" he said, and before she knew what was happening he reached his arm out and pulled her off-balance so that she landed face-first on the ground next to him, then pinned her down with that same arm, pulling her in close to his side. "_I don't need any tea right now. What you did helped a lot, I'm feeling much better now, and you look exhausted. You should really get some sleep._"

She struggled against his grip but realized, to her chagrin, that she wasn't able to break free. He had her well and truly pinned to the ground. Or, more properly, to the soft bed of mosses and grass that he, himself, was lying on. She had to admit it was awfully comfortable, and it was very calming lying next to another warm body like this, and she was so very tired... She shook herself awake as she realized her eyes were drifting closed. "_Let me up!_" she protested, "_I have things to do, and you really do need that tea._"

"_Then someone else can bring it to me,_" he said firmly, "_because you aren't going anywhere until you've slept. I was raised around midwives and healers; I know the signs when one has been overworking herself. If I have to tie your arm to mine in order to get you to stay here where I can be sure you'll get enough rest I'm more than ready to,_" he smirked at her, "_After all, it is the weavers who make the nets and ropes; we have to be strong, agile and dexterous, and it's only my tail that's injured at the moment, not my arms or my hands._"

"_You devious …_" she started to protest, making one last attempt to struggle, but he calmly placed his free hand over her mouth.

"_Sleep,_" he said, "_You can be angry at me in the morning if you wish, but for tonight we are going to lie here together and both get the rest we need._"

Resisting the urge to pout like an overtired child, Prrala turned her head away from his with a huff, refusing to look at him, but she did allow herself to be pulled in a little closer against his side - just so that she was in the most comfortable part of the bedding, of course - and then she closed her eyes, feeling the disorienting dizziness of extreme fatigue pass over her, and then she was asleep and knew no more.

* * *

Tseo'ong sighed and pressed his forehead against the ground. What was he even thinking, trapping a woman against her will? And yet, he knew it was for her own good. He just hoped she would remember tomorrow morning that he was still injured and that would prevent her from doing him too much damage when her temper inevitably flared upon waking and realizing where she was.

"_That was well done of you,_" he heard someone say quietly, and lifted his head to see his brother-in-law, Tun'ut. The tall healer was holding a ceramic cup filled with something that steamed, and Tseo'ong's nose scented the familiar aroma of pain-tea. "_I've been trying to get her to go to sleep for the past three patients, but she always has been stubborn,_" he added.

Tseo'ong huffed with soft laughter as he sipped at the tea, its usual bitter aftertaste catching in his throat. "_I hope she appreciates my willingness to endanger my life for her once again,_" he said, "_even if the danger is going to come from Prrala herself when she wakes up and sees my unfortunate face next to hers._" With a grimace he tossed back the last of the tea, wanting to avoid spending too much time with its unpleasant taste on his tongue, and handed the cup back to Tun'ut.

"_She will appreciate it...eventually,_" Tun'ut chuckled, "_but even so, I suggest moving your arm away very quickly when she wakes. If you want to avoid dislocated fingers, that is, although I'm sure she will be most contrite after the damage is done, and wrap them most carefully for you._"

Tseo'ong made something that resembled a rude gesture and closed his eyes, his ears still picking up the sounds of his brother-in-law's laughter for a time as the man walked away.

Once he was sure he was on his own again he turned his head to observe his captive. Prrala looked to be sleeping soundly, without any of the nightmares that both of them had suffered while trapped beneath the fallen _Kelutral_. But then, given her clear exhaustion, he would be surprised if she dreamt at all tonight. He yawned hugely as the combination of the pain he had been feeling all evening, its sudden lack, and the soporific properties of pain-tea overtook him, and he shifted his arm lower so that it wrapped comfortably around her waist before closing his eyes and drifting into his own deep, dreamless sleep. Let the morning bring what it may, at least for tonight all was well.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Hell's Gate, the celebrations were going on well into the night. All the captured Sec-Ops and all the other "anti-Na'vi" humans had been securely locked away in one of the warehouses, contained not only by the elaborate locking system (whose codes had been changed by the MacCool brothers, just in case one of the prisoners happened to have known the original codes) but also by the fact that it was a separate outbuilding, not connected to the main compound, and thus in order to get "from there to here", as it were, you needed an exo-pak...something the prisoners were currently lacking. It wasn't the best situation, and everyone knew it, but for now, for tonight, it would have to do. In the morning they could work out something more permanent, if that was the way things were going to go, or some other solution, whatever it might be.

In any case, Dolan rolled his eyes as he reminded himself, it was none of his own concern. He'd fixed the locks, he'd made all the calls he needed to make tonight, and now Bailey was taking over his post and he was free to celebrate. Or maybe just go to bed. It had been a damned long day and tomorrow was sure to be another, after all. He started the turn to head to his quarters as he passed the appropriate hallway, but then he shook his head. He should at least make a token appearance at the party, perhaps have a whiskey or two, before calling it a night. He turned again toward the cafeteria, where the party was sure to be in full swing, and was suddenly blindsided as someone reached out from the hallway he'd been about to walk down and grabbed him, pulling him into the first open doorway on the left.

"What in all that's good..." he started, and then grinned as he realized that his "assailant" was none other than Moira Cassidy. The red-headed link-tech had raised an eyebrow at him and was waving a bottle of something that looked like very expensive aged whiskey. That wasn't the first thing he noticed, however. No, the thing that really caught his eye was the fact that although her lab coat was buttoned up, it was fairly clear that she wasn't wearing anything underneath it. That point was made all the more clear as she set the bottle down on a convenient surface near the door and lifted one hand to begin undoing buttons.

"I figured we might have our own little private party," she smiled at him, stopping after she had undone the top two buttons of her lab coat so that the lapels played peek-a-boo with her nipples as she moved toward him. "After all, you're a hero today, and a hero deserves a hero's true reward."

He blinked, slightly stunned, then shook his head. "I'm hardly a hero," he shook his head, "I'm just a biology fellow who happens to be handy with computer code. You want a hero you ought to go looking for one of the AVTR drivers. They're the ones did all the heavy lifting, as it were."

"Thanks all the same, but I think I'd like to reward _this_ hero," she shook her head, then made a face, "besides, AVTR drivers never bother much with their real bodies, they're way too obsessed with the big blue ones."

That couldn't help but make him laugh. "Is that so?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her and reaching out to slip his hands inside the open top of her lab coat.

"Absolutely," she nodded. "Useless bloody arses, every one of them, but they don't enter into the conversation just now. We were talking about how you're the hero of the evening."

"I still say I was just doing what I had to do," he shook his head, but his carefully-constructed argument was shattered as she dropped to her knees, her hand darting out to the drawstring of the scrubs he'd been wearing since this morning when they had to look like they were doing what they always did and yanking the knot loose. Almost before he knew what was going on she was nuzzling into him, her lips soft and her tongue hot as it curled around him, stirring his passions and fogging his brain.

It wasn't the first time, or even the second. Ever since that evening in the lab when she'd firmly planted herself in his lap she had shown a clear agenda as far as he was concerned, and Dolan didn't really have any strenuous objection to said agenda beyond the fact that he really hadn't had any plans to get into any kind of a relationship. Still, her hands, her mouth and her delicate but strong body were all very persuasive arguments. And really, after all that had happened today, what did they have to lose?

He reached down, drawing her to her feet before she managed to end things far too soon, and stepped out of the pants that had pooled at his feet then continued to move forward as he shucked his own lab coat and his shirt, lifting her onto the same counter she had set the bottle on.

He took a quick swig of the whiskey, hardly even appreciating its smooth burn as he set it safely out of the way and then moved back to finish undoing her buttons and peel her lab coat away like the best Christmas present wrapping ever. If she was determined to insist that he was a hero worthy of reward, then who was he to contradict her. He pulled her against him, his blood thundering in his veins at the delectable picture she presented, and then sank into her with a groan. Yes, she was right, he _definitely_ deserved this.

* * *

From his post outside, Xander could hear how Hell's Gate echoed with the muffled sounds of music and laughter coming from the party in full swing in the cafeteria. He was still mostly sober, having stopped after one jar of Na'vi home-brew, which was why he was the one on watch through the late hours.

As he listened to the sounds of his fellow rebels - his fellow _true_ humans - celebrating, he couldn't help wondering how many of them would still be celebrating this victory six months from now, or a year from now, when the hardships had truly begun to set in. For himself, though, he had no regrets, and he knew he wouldn't later either. After all, he had his reasons for wanting the RDA gone, and it wasn't just a purely moral crusade. No, his reason was much more...personal.

He chuckled to himself as his sensitive hearing picked up another sound. He was near the domestic quarters, and if he wasn't mistaken there was at least one couple celebrating in a slightly different manner. He sighed. Well, it was inevitable, he supposed. At least the RDA was good for one thing - it wasn't like they were going to have to worry about breeding any time soon.

Something brushed against him just then, and he looked up to see one of the _atokirina'_ floating just in front of his nose. He smiled and blew out a light huff, sending it spinning and pulsing away. "_I'm fine,_" he said, speaking to it in Na'vi almost without thinking about the choice of language, "_go fuss over someone who needs your attention._" It seemed to hesitate briefly in the air, pulsing back toward him long enough to land on his forehead before taking off again, floating high over Hell's Gate and away; a tiny bioluminescent star in the darkness.

* * *

**Well, I hope that was worth at least a little of the wait -_-;; Hopefully things will continute to flow, and there are a couple of side-stories in the works, as well as another chapter of Eywa's Grace coming down the pipes. Plus I've begun work once again on one of my actual original novels...perhaps one of these days you'll see me put out work I can get paid for XD**

**In the meantime, though, I'm having quite a bit of fun still playing in Mr. Cameron's world.**

**Oh, and before I forget again for the umpteenth time, one final note before the vocab: For any of you out there who want something entertaining (she says, somewhat self-promotionally) to listen to, check out the podcasts of Avatar Nation (google it, you know I can't post links here :P ) And for any of you who've already found it, yes, those _are_ my "dulcet tones" (and my sometimes-firm opinions) upon the airwaves!**

**In any case, now that I've gotten all that out of the way, time for vocab!**

**Na'vi:**_**  
Toruk**_** - Great Leonopteryx**  
_**palulukan **_**- Thanator**  
**_Fpioea stxeli_**** - this is a probably-awkwardly-worded attempt to say "a present for me?". Given it's Jake talking, I wasn't too worried about getting all the infixes and grammer right XD**  
**_tsmuke _-**** sister****  
_tsaheylu_**** - **the Bond  
_**tswin **_**- queue**  
_**tsahìk**_** - spiritual leader**  
_**tawtute / sawtute**_** - sky person/people, human(s)**  
**Tree of Souls**  
_**meoauniaea**_** - the balance of all things within nature - an intrinsicly Na'vi concept of the world**  
_**'ite**_** - daughter**

_**kelutral **_**- Hometree**  
_**uniltirantokx **_**- dreamwalker body, empty avatar**  
_**tanhì **_**- star, bioluminescent body marking**  
_**skxawng**_ **- moron**  
_**atokirina'**_ **- seed of the sacred tree, spiritual messenger**

**Japanese:**  
_**koi**_ **- love**  
_**chibi-tachi **_**- little ones**

**Afrikaans:**  
_**boykie**_ -** "boy", a slightly derogatory or slightly affectionate way to address a person**


	44. Chapter 43: Pick a Little, Talk a Little

**Yes, your eyes do not decieve you, it's a new chapter! Faster than last time, but slower than I'd hoped. But then, a lot of exciting things happened in between. Like getting to go up to the cabin (my kelna'ring) for the first time in almost two years, hanging out with my nephew who's now almost talking and (most exciting for all you folks) going down to Seattle last month to see the Avatar exhibit and meet (and interview!) Dr. Paul Frommer! **

**Yes, those of you who listen to Avatar Nation will perhaps have heard the podcast of the question and answer session from the Science Fiction Museum, and if you have heard it, that vehement "Yes!" after Dr. Frommer mentioned the need for JC to provide us with information on kinship systems? That would've been me *blush* I...have some strong opinions about some things, I'll freely admit it, and that's one of them.**

**Anyway, it was all very exciting, and I was most impressed by how personable and self-effacing Dr. Frommer is. Hopefully the boys will get the random interviews that we did over lunch out on the podcast at some point so you can all hear me interviewing (well, helping to interview) some really awesome Avatar fans as well as Dr. Frommer himself. Yes, I know, shameless self-promotion there.**

**But that's not why you're all here! You're here to read the long-awaited chapter!  
**

* * *

Brotherhood Chapter 43: Pick a Little, Talk a Little

When the first warrior returned to the Ikran clan to spread the news of the end of the battle and the victory over the _sawtute_ everyone had to smile. Amhul, their _Olo'eyktan_, had once again shown her usual wisdom - she had sent Kxani, whose greatest love was to talk about everything and anything to anyone who asked. There was endless rejoicing as he explained that all the evil _sawtute_ had been captured and herded together like a group of mindsick _talioang_ who had eaten too many fern fronds and had to be contained lest they destroy whole swathes of forest, and there was sadness too, of course, from those whose loved-ones he could confirm had been lost, but for one among the many it was a small bit of news that he tacked onto the end of his speech before the clan which triggered neither rejoicing nor sadness but intense worry.

"_I am told,_" Kxani had said, "_that while we battled the main force of the sawtute among the floating mountains, their home, which was left almost totally unguarded, was captured by the uniltìranyu, those strange creatures the sawtute created in order to try to trick the Na'vi into thinking they wished to understand us and to live in harmony with us. So even as the cowardly sawtute ran like defeated aynantang, with their tails between their legs, they had nothing to return to but captivity._" He had grinned, and the crowd had cheered, but for one young woman a pang of worry shot through her heart and she knew she had to ask him if he knew more.

Once he finished his speech he had, of course, stayed where he was, revelling in the attention as people pressed forward to speak with him. She had been closer to the back of the crowd and thus it took her some amount of time to get to him, which only increased her anxiety. It was some space of time before she was able to speak with him.

"_Ma Kxani, if I might ask,_" she said a little hesitantly when she had finally caught his attention,"_do you know if all the ayuniltìranyu were injured in capturing the home of the sawtute?_"

He frowned at her question. "_Why should it matter?_" he asked with a shrug, "_they are, after all, not real People._"

Na'ami bit off the angry reply that she knew was mostly a product of her worry and her long wait to talk to Kxani and took a deep breath. "_Even if they are not precisely the same as us they are clearly on our side, and so are worthy of our concern,_" she scolded him. "_Besides, is not Toruk Makto himself uniltìranyu_?"

That was, of course, a question Kxani had no answer for. "_Well,_" he said, "_I did not hear anything about any of the ayuniltìranyu being injured, but I also did not ask. If you wish to know more you will have to ask someone else._"

Of course, Na'ami knew that he was just trying to brush her off and point out how unlikely it was that she would learn much of anything about what had happened at the _sawtute_ home, but she chose to take his statement at face value. "_Perhaps I will have to do that, then,_" she nodded, "_Thank you, ma Kxani, for helping me make up my mind about things that must be done._"

He, of course, looked very confused as she turned her tail on him and walked off in the direction of the paddocks, but then, Kxani had never been one for subtleties. He was, after all, male and a warrior.

Uni'i, on the other hand, was neither male nor a warrior. She was, in fact, a healer and one of Na'ami's best friends, and she caught up with Na'ami just outside of the bulk of the crowd.

"_You should not go alone,_" she said, using what Na'ami knew was her best "stern healer voice" as she moved to stand between Na'ami and the paddocks.

"_I know the way, I will not get lost,_" Na'ami shook her head, "_and you will not stop me from going, Uni'i. This is something I __**must**__ do._"

"_I did not say you should not go, ma Na'ami,_" Uni'i smiled a very secretive kind of smile at her, "_only that you should not go alone. And you should not go without packing a few things. You may, after all, be staying for some length of time. There really is no sense going all that way only to ask after one man._"

Na'ami shook her head. "_I will ask after all of them,_" she said, "_it would not be right to ask only after one._" She didn't try to deny that there was one, more than the others, that she was concerned about, but of course, Uni'i had guessed at least a part of her secret some seasons past and had not objected to such a treasonous thought at the time, so there was not, perhaps, as much risk in the admission as there could have been had anyone else suggested it. Na'ami smiled at her friend, "_and did I understand you correctly that you would like to come with me?_"

"_I can do good there,_" Uni'i nodded, "_there are, I am sure, more injured than the healers of any one clan can handle on their own, and in times such as these, we healers welcome every additional hand with great appreciation._"

"_...and perhaps among a gathering so large, you might find a man who catches your eye,_" Na'ami added with a laugh, "_I would be glad to have you along. After all, it will be a journey of more than a day, and the company will keep me from boredom when we set down for the night._"

"_Alright, then I had better gather my things, and you had better gather yours,_" Uni'i nodded decisively, "_and I will meet you back at the paddocks when the shadows reach the sea._"

* * *

He hated tall people. Cliché though that admission was, it was an unfortunate fact that had been a part of Parker Selfridge since he had ended his growth spurt at sixteen and still hadn't broken five-foot-eight. He was beginning to find, though, that there was something he hated even more than tall people, and that was massively tall blue people. Especially when the massively tall blue person in question was someone he used to be able to look down on - literally - who was now more than double his height. Sully insisted on negotiating in his avatar, and not only was it visually and physically imposing with that mohawk and all the skinny but really obvious muscles, it was giving Parker the world's worst crick in his neck. Especially since the big blue bastard WOULDN'T SIT THE FUCK DOWN!

Parker was doing his best to contain his temper, though, since he knew it wouldn't be doing him any favours. He had a plan to get out of this with his life intact, and possibly even his job if he pulled this off right, and he wasn't about to jeopardize that. Not for anything.

"Look, Sully," he said, "I know you know what things are like back on Earth. We can't just cut off the supply of Unobtanium without something to fall back on. The economy's fragile enough already, if you cut us off cold turkey it'll collapse completely! Have you got any idea what kind of chaos that will cause?"

"And I should care about that why, exactly?" the big blue bastard raised an eyebrow, "I'm never going back there, even if I wasn't branded a traitor to the human race, which I know is how the company is going to spin things. Everything I need or want is here, Selfridge, and I don't owe Earth anything."

"I think you're forgetting, Sully, that without the RDA, and without Earth, you wouldn't even be here in the first place," Parker pointed out, then he shook his head, "but I think we're getting away from the point. You have to allow us to continue mining. You know as well as I do that the RDA isn't going to just give up everything we've built here just because you came along and got the natives to work together for a little while. They'll keep coming, and you're either going to have to work with them or you'll get blown off the face of the moon sooner or later. I've got your best interests in mind here as well as my own."

"A pretty speech, Selfridge, but I think you're forgetting something," Sully smiled coldly, "you really aren't in a position to be insisting on any rights just at the moment. You're the defeated government, I'm the victor, and beyond keeping you and your people alive I don't owe you anything." He shook his head, "I'm not an idiot though, no matter what you or anyone else might think; I know perfectly well that the ISV's aren't going to just stop coming, and even if I don't owe Earth anything, as I said, I'm hardly the kind of heartless monster who would just let the whole economy collapse like that. I believe there is a way to keep both of us happy, and I'm willing to negotiate terms, but one of those terms is that there will be no human presence on the surface of Pandora, apart from those vetted by the Na'vi."

"You're suggesting remote mining operations?" Parker frowned, "it's a very expensive way to work things, but maybe, at least as a stopgap measure, it could be an option."

"Actually, what I'm suggesting is that instead of focusing on the planet - a place where you've already done quite a bit of damage and pissed of the locals to an extreme extent - you look at all those lovely asteroids floating around up there in orbit with us. I've seen the reports, Selfridge - those ones you and the company tried to keep very quiet - there's more than enough unobtanium in those asteroids to keep the Earth's supply steady for decades. That's more than enough time to sort things out one way or another."

"Asteroid mining is expensive..." Parker hedged, trying to make it seem as if he was very reluctant about the suggestion. In fact, this was a great victory as far as he was concerned. It would give the RDA a continued reason to be in orbit around Pandora, and after all, who knew what might happen in a few years' time.

"I've also seen some of the company's profit margin reports," Sully said, "I have a very skilled hacker or three on my personal payroll, as it were. I know how much the RDA has been bilking the entire Earth on the cost of unobtanium due to its monopoly. You can afford the extra costs."

"I suppose..." Parker nodded, "I'll have to explain the situation to my superiors when I return to Earth, of course, but provisionally it's a scenario that we could work with. For now, anyway."

"For now," Sully agreed. "Now, as far as getting your people off this rock and home, we'd better figure out how to do it safely and quickly."

"Right," Parker agreed. Not that he really cared. Well, alright, he sortof cared, they were human, after all, and he wasn't a monster, but the most important thing had been handled, and quite skilfully if he did say so himself.

* * *

"_Still no word?_" Mo'at asked as she saw her old friend's expression of worry only deepen as he spoke quietly to the scout who was bringing back the latest information from the battlefield search teams.

"_Nothing,_" Ateyo shook his head, "_No word and no sign. The last anyone remembers is seeing him heading toward the tawsìp, but in the middle of battle it seems he just disappeared._"

"_Surely such a thing is not possible in truth,_" Mo'at pointed out, "_but the longer it takes to find him, my friend, the more we must be concerned for his wellbeing._"

"_I know I have asked before, but..._" Ateyo glanced toward the massive spreading limbs of _Vitrautral_ which draped over them.

"_It is still too soon,_" Mo'at sighed, "_With so many recently lost in the battle, there are simply more voices than I am able to tell apart, even to distinguish one so well known. I am sorry, ma 'eylan, you will just have to wait for confirmation of that kind, as will I._"

"_Thank you,_" Ateyo rubbed his fingers over the healing wounds which newly marred his features since the fall of _Kelutral_. "_I know you do all that you must - all that you can and more for the clan - and although it pains me to bring this up, it is for the clan, more than for my son, that we must have concern right now. The searchers will find him, or they will not, but either way right now the clan needs a leader. I would step forward myself, but it is not my place. My time is past, although I will support those who lead with all of my being._"

"_You are a wise man, Ateyo,_" Mo'at smiled, "_and I do not think the clan would suffer were you to take on the responsibilities you seem not to wish, but you are right, we do need someone to take over, at least until Tsu'tey is found. It is not that difficult a decision to make, though. I believe I will speak to my daughter about the right way to approach my son-in-law. He has, after all, already begun to take on many responsibilities of a leader. Whether he knows it or not he speaks with the words of one for whom the needs of the clan mean more than his own needs._"

"_He rides again to the home of the sawtute to continue with the arrangements which will see them sent back to the stars,_" Ateyo said thoughtfully, "_perhaps it would be best if we were to speak to him before that time._"

"_Perhaps,_" Mo'at agreed, "_but first I must speak to Neytiri. She will know better than I how he will react to the request, after all._"

"_I will be guided by you in this, ma Tsahìk,_" Ateyo nodded politely, "_If you need me you will find me with my family. Laneya is much distressed by her brother's absence, and even if I have no happy words for her I do not want to leave her for too long._"

Mo'at nodded gravely. "_I pray to Eywa that all will be well,_" she said, "_after all, your son is a very strong man, and he is stubborn as a palulukan who has caught scent of prey._"

That made Ateyo smile. "_He is that,_" he agreed.

* * *

Since both Tom and Jake were heading back to the (soon to be former) home of the _sawtute_ in the morning, and she and Neytiri were going with them, Ninat had thought that she really ought to ask Ka'tsi whether there was anything she might wish from that place - anything which she had left there or that she could think of from there which she might need. It was only polite, after all, to offer such a service to her brother's mate, a woman whom she had long thought of as a sister.

There was only one trouble with this plan, however...she could not find her. Neither Ka'tsi nor Antsu were anywhere they might logically be. They were not around the kitchen fires, and they were not sitting with any of the other singers, and when Ninat went to ask her parents, neither one of them had seen the couple for hours either. Ninat knew it was foolish to panic, she knew that there was no longer a threat from the _sawtute_, that they had been thoroughly banished, but between taking care of Tom while he was recovering from his fight with the evil _tawtute_ in the metal body, spending time the day before at Hell's Gate while Tom and Jake negotiated the terms of the _sawtute_'s surrender, and everything else which had been going on, she could not bring to mind one instance where she had seen either Ka'tsi or Antsu since the day of the battle itself, when she had shown Mrrket to the healers with Peyral.

Given all that had happened in the last few days, she could, perhaps, be forgiven for being just a little bit frantic when she still couldn't find them after a concerted search effort, so when Tom came looking for her with dinner for the two of them she nearly made him drop the leaf plates he was carrying as she rushed into his arms.

"_What's wrong?_" he asked her, obviously doing his best to be soothing as he nuzzled the top of her head with his chin (his hands being occupied with plates).

"_I can't find Antsu!_" she explained, and even though she was doing her best to stay calm she knew there was an edge of panic in her voice. "_or Ka'tsi either! I have not seen them since the day of the battle and I am worried for them._"

"_Ah..._" Tom hesitated, "_there is probably a very good reason for that. No, not probably, definitely._"

"_You...do you know where they are, ma Tom?_" Ninat looked up at him, surprised, "_Why did you not mention it before?_"

"_I didn't realize you were looking,_" Tom pointed out, "_and I kindof got the impression they wanted their privacy..._" The _sanhì_ on his face were blazing, and strangely that was the thing that calmed her down the most.

"_So they are safe?_" Ninat backed up from the death-grip she'd had around his chest and smiled as she took a deep breath (which brought the scents of dinner to her, making her remember that he had food with him)

"_They are,_" Tom nodded.

"_Tell me,_" Ninat smiled at him as she took her plate and found a comfortable spot for them to eat their dinner, "_you can talk and eat at the same time, can you not? Suddenly I find myself very hungry!_"

Tom laughed and sank down next to her with his own plate. "_Hunger is a good thing,_" he said, "_it means you're not as worried as you were. And there isn't all that much to tell, really. I was looking around for them because I thought maybe Cathy might want something from _Hell's Gate_..._"

Ninat laughed. "_The exact same reason __**I**__ was looking for them! But go on, ma yawne, I don't mean to interrupt your story._"

Tom laughed as well. "Great minds think alike," he grinned at her, "_In any case yes, I went looking for them, and when I had exhausted all the usual places, I thought I should walk the perimeter of the bowl to see if they might have wandered off somewhere or maybe catch scent of them in an area that was less muddled, and...well... Cathy has a very distinctive voice, you know, and we've been friends for years, so certainly long enough for me to recognise it, even if she was...expressing more pleasure with her present company than I had ever heard from her myself,_" he said delicately.

Ninat giggled. "_And you did not run to check and make sure her cries were not cries of fear?_" she teased her mate, enjoying the subtle discomfort in his expression.

"_I...well, I almost did,_" he admitted, "_but then she said some things that I knew she wouldn't have said if she was frightened, so I hurried away. After all, it was nearly dinnertime, and I wanted to get the best morsels for you._" Tom's face was alight, but he managed to raise an eyebrow at her in an insinuating sort of way that she was becoming very familiar with even through his own embarrassment.

Ninat laughed, then leaned over to kiss his blazing cheek. "_I am fortunate to have such a considerate mate,_" she said, "_and perhaps we ought to take some food in the direction you heard those noises, just in case they get hungry later._"

"_Perhaps,_" Tom smiled at her, picking up a piece of _yerik_ from her plate and holding it to her mouth, "_but later. After we have eaten._" the "and after other things" wasn't said aloud, but she could hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes all too clearly.

"_Later,_" she agreed, meeting his eyes as she opened her mouth and delicately took the piece of meat in her teeth before closing her lips around his fingers. Definitely later.

* * *

As she picked her way carefully across the ground where the battle must have occurred, Me'lina fought a sickness that seemed to crawl inside her chest and lodge deep in her belly. The smell of dead ash clung to the back of her throat and she could almost taste it as she breathed. And not only dead ash, there were other scents as well, rotting flesh and something that reminded her of a certain boggy place near her home which erupted now and then with strange vapours. Her _pa'li_ had stepped into a hole with his left midfoot this morning, and while they had both been lucky enough that the limb wasn't permanently damaged, she had thought it best to walk him for the rest of the day, rather than riding him in such chancy terrain. Clearly the fires which had passed through here had burned underground in places, charring and consuming the roots of the trees and creating hidden sinkholes. She was close enough now to _Vitrautral_ - perhaps only a day or so's travel away - that she saw no harm in slowing down enough to keep a stable footing, and great harm in pressing on at a full canter. Besides, within the area affected by battle, there was always the chance that she might come across those who had been injured or...worse, and she did not want to miss an opportunity to be of some small help in this nightmarish landscape.

Ashes clung to her bare feet where she trod through them, they swirled up with the wind of her passage and coated her legs to the knees, and she wished for nothing more than to be gone from this place, but she knew she couldn't leave, she couldn't simply turn around and return, the _tsahìk_ had told her she had a duty, a destiny which required her to come to this place at this time, and something within her agreed with that assessment. And so she trudged onward, sipping sparingly from the water-vessel her _pa'li_ still carried in a vain attempt to wash the taste of the ashes from her throat.

She walked on, half alert and half in a daze, almost all her attention centered on where she was placing her feet, not wanting to step into a sinkhole herself, or miss the sign of some injured warrior, but even though she thought she was paying attention, it was her _pa'li_'s alarmed whinny which drew her eyes upward to meet those of the predator. In the path directly in front of her stood a large _nantang_, and his gaze was intent upon her. She took a half-step backward so that her shoulder brushed the withers of her _pa'li_, her hand reaching toward the knife she, like every Na'vi who might travel alone, carried at the small of her back as she glanced quickly around, looking for the rest of its pack, but then something entirely unexpected happened. The _nantang_ did not advance, but instead bowed its head and half-crouched into what looked to be a non-threatening posture, extending its _tswin_ toward her in what could only be an open gesture of friendship. She was unsure of how to react to this most strange of occurrences, but then, floating through the air, there came an _atokirina'_, the sacred seed dancing down the length of the _tswin_ offered to her and then over to brush against the hand she raised involuntarily toward it.

Well, if that was not a sign that even the most oblivious of children might read then she was _tawtute_. Gathering her courage she took one trembling step forward, and then another, until finally she was close enough, and then she knelt before the strange _nantang_ and tilted her head to let her _tswin _slither over her shoulder. This close to the animal she could see that it was male, and that it - he - was clearly strong. He had battle scars long faded as well as newer ones, but the muscles which rippled beneath his skin were obviously vital and filled with power. As if in a dream she took the end of her _tswin_ in her hand and lifted it until she had made contact. The shock of connection opened her eyes wide, and then he spoke.

«_Come with small brother,_» he said, «_Large brother is making hotness and sick-smell, and small brother cannot lick better. Large brother need bluepeople healing._»

Me'lina was confused. Why would a _nantang_ even think to come looking for one of the People to cure illness? And this one called himself "small"? He was huge for a _nantang_! Still, she could not ignore the message of the _atokirina'_. «_Where is this "Large brother" you speak of?_» she asked, «_I have some skill with healing, perhaps I can help._»

«_Come, and bring your honey-drinker. Even the honey-drinker should not be wandering hurt in this place,_» the _nantang_ said curtly, and Me'lina got the sense that he was used to being obeyed. Did _aynantang_ have an _Olo'eyktan_ as the Na'vi did? If so, then surely this was one such.

She got to her feet, clicking her tongue to her _pa'li_, which was wary but walked toward her, and as she stood the bond with the _nantang_ slipped away, but she felt his body brush along hers almost gently as he turned and slipped back into the forest.

They walked for perhaps long enough to sing a teaching song twice, and then they came to an area less affected by the fire, where there were still some living plants, and a small upwelling of water had created a pool that seemed clean and clear. The _nantang_ yipped and others appeared out of the cover or down from the trees, but none of them were in the least bit menacing. They all greeted him, and then he yipped again and they faded back away. Perhaps she had been right, perhaps this _was_ the _olo'eyktan_ of the _nantang_.

He offered his _tswin_ again, and knowing now that it was safe, Me'lina once again linked to him.

«_The honey-drinker must wait here,_» he said, «_he is far too large to come into the den where Large brother sleeps._»

Me'lina nodded and then went over to her _pa'li_, made _tsaheylu_ and instructed him not to stray, and that the _aynantang_ would not harm him, then lifted down the pack of healing materials she had brought with her and returned to her strange guide. He wuffed softly and shouldered aside a fall of ferns to reveal the entrance to a small cave. Once he was sure that she understood, he walked inside, and Me'lina followed, crawling behind him through the narrow entrance that opened up into a much larger interior space. In a way, it reminded her of the kiln back at home, although of course it was not nearly so hot. The ceiling domed overhead, and she found that although she could not stand, she could at least kneel. As her eyes adjusted to the low levels of light provided by lichens covering the walls she realized that she was not alone. There was another Na'vi inside the cave. This must be the "Large brother" the _nantang_ had spoken of! But how could it be that a _nantang_ would be brother to a Na'vi warrior? Would save him in battle? Clearly there was a story here that wanted to be told, but it would have to wait. After all, if the man was sick enough that the _nantang_ had sought out help, then there was little time to waste.

She shuffled over next to him and reached out a hand, placing it on his forehead and wincing at the level of heat radiating off him. This was bad, but perhaps not totally a lost cause. She had fever-reducing herbs with her, and if his only trouble was an infection then that small help should be enough. She worried, though, how he had managed to get such an infection. He must be otherwise wounded, and there was no sense in treating the fever if the cause of it remained. She ran her hands carefully over his body, and when she came to the first of the small wounds she hissed. She did not know what could cause such small, precise holes. There were no arrow shafts remaining, but something did feel wrong.

«_Can you fix?_» The _nantang_ asked. «_There are small pieces of metal inside. I touched them with my tongue but I cannot bite them out, they lie too deep._»

Small bits of metal? Me'lina frowned deeply, trying to recall what she had been told of the _sawtute_. Mostly rumours, of course, but she remembered something she had heard about sling-stones of metal that could do much damage. Silently apologizing to the warrior she grit her teeth and felt inside the wound with the tip of her finger, and perhaps one joint inside she felt it, the small metal sling-stone that was causing all his trouble. It moved under her touch, though, which was a good sign. It was almost like the time that Txon had played with a piece of clay and not gotten all of the bubbles of air out of it before putting it upon the fire. _Sa'nok_ had scolded him mightily as she cut the shards of half-baked clay out of his skin, and he had scarred, certainly, but he had lived. Perhaps she could do the same thing here.

«_I think I can fix it,_» she said, «_but I will have to cut him to get the pieces of metal out. Just small cuts, but he may struggle._»

«_He will not,_» the _nantang_ assured, «_I will lie down upon him and tell him not to._» He then broke _tsaheylu_ with her and moved so that his body pinned the man down across the abdomen and legs, then made _tsaheylu_ with him.

Me'lina quickly mixed a paste that would keep the bleeding down, brought back to the days of her childhood training with her mother before the clay took her heart, and she cleansed her knife, closed her eyes, and made a small prayer to Eywa that she would not fail this brave warrior.

Then she began to cut.

* * *

At first he thought it was a very strange dream. He could hear mechanical noises and the bustle of people moving around somewhere nearby, and there was someone taking (although not to him). If anything, it kindof reminded him of when he'd been recovering from his bout of chickenpox as a child. The world had been fuzzy around the edges then, too.

The sounds of talking came closer (or maybe he could just hear better because he was kinda curious and was trying to hear better?) and Norm thought maybe at least one of the voices sounded familiar. There was a female voice and there was a male voice...or maybe it was actually two male voices. He couldn't quite tell, because they sounded very similar. Now and then they almost seemed to be talking on top of each other, but with how fuzzy he was, Norm really couldn't tell if that was actually happening or if it was just a trick of his brain. He tried to swivel his ears to get a better read on the voices, but for some reason (oh yeah, human body, not in the avatar...something about the avatar?) he couldn't get his ears to move. Weird. It had been ages since he'd dreamed about himself in his human body.

"His status is stable for now," the female voice said, "but that's from a purely physical standpoint."

"So if he's stable, why is he still asleep?" the male voice asked. It sounded, Norm realized, quite a lot like Jake. Or maybe Tom. It was hard to tell which one of his friends had decided to be in this dream; especially as he couldn't seem to make his eyes open.

"There was...something of an incident when he began to wake after the initial procedure," the woman explained in that clinical way that screamed she must be a doctor or medic of some kind. "We thought it better to put him into an induced coma for the time being, to reduce the stress on his body and especially the undue stress he was putting on his heart."

"What happened to him anyway?" Jake (Tom?) asked.

"He suffered a type 2 acute myocardial infarction secondary to serious damage to his avatar that caused him to panic and elevated his heart rate," the doctor (he'd dubbed her "Doctor" in his head after that last statement - total medspeak!) explained, "it appears that extended link time may have led to DVT, and when his adrenaline level spiked the clot was dislodged and ended up in his heart. He's pretty lucky, actually. It could just as easily hit his brain and he would've stroked out."

"Well shit," Jake and/or Tom swore (more likely Jake, although...hmm...Norm had certainly heard Tom swear before, and he supposed from what he could decipher of the medspeak that the news about what had happened to him in this weird dream hadn't been good) "I didn't totally follow all that, but that sounds bad. How could he have a heart attack? He's only twenty-five!"

"What's the long term prognosis?" Tom and/or Jake (this sounded much more like Tom...maybe they were both in the dream) asked.

"Ultimately we won't know for sure until we're able to get him up and healthy enough to run a mild stress test on him," the doctor said, "but judging from the scans he looks to have done damage to the right ventricle, which could very likely lead to some degree of heart failure. He is, as you pointed out, still young, but even so, with the level of damage he's done..." There was a long pause, and Norm had to strain to catch her next, very quiet statement. "It's very likely that his lifespan will be severely shortened, either due to pulmonary edema or to additional stress further damaging his weakened heart."

"How long?" Tom and/or Jake - or both, that sounded really echoey - asked, and frankly, Norm wanted to hear the answer as well.

"It's impossible to give absolutes," the doctor said, "but if he takes things easy and accepts his body's new limitations, and if he keeps his link times to very carefully regulated intervals I would estimate he could have another twenty years. If he doesn't take care of himself, however, it could be as little as five. Pandora is hardly easy on a body, even for a human who stays indoors at all times, and you avatar drivers have notoriously bad habits as far as neglecting your human bodies in favour of your constructed ones."

"And his avatar?" Jake/Tom asked.

"I've been told the damage is almost repaired," the doctor said, "but I don't recommend he use it for at least another week."

"What are you thinking, Tom?" Okay that had to be Jake, since, of course, he'd addressed Tom directly. Which meant Tom was in the room as well. Ha! Logic wins!

"I'm thinking we might want to talk with Mo'at about a few things," Tom replied, "but of course it'd be up to Norm, ultimately."

"Oh...right," Jake said, "I hadn't even thought of that. I'm...not sure if he'd want to, though, given...what happened."

"Well, we'll just have to talk him into making sure that he doesn't do anything stupid," Tom said firmly.

"I'm sorry but...what are you suggesting?" the doctor asked.

"Oh, don't worry about it Doc," Jake (had to be Jake) said, "it's not even an issue until we've sorted things out on the other end, and besides, you probably wouldn't believe me if I tried to explain it to you anyway."

There was a strange click of sound near Norm's ear, and he felt a rush of warmth pass over him as the voices began to move away again. He couldn't bring himself to try to get their attention, though. The dream was fading into fuzziness again, and it was just so comfortable...

* * *

He hurt. That was the first thing he became aware of as he swam up out of hazy dreams. It wasn't any kind of specific hurt either, although there were places that seemed to hurt more sharply than others, but generally his whole body just ached, and this inside of his mouth felt sticky and tasted, well...like things he didn't like to think of. It was a struggle to open his eyes, but he had never been one to give up easily - on anything - so after only a little time he had roused himself enough to open them a crack. At least enough to get a general idea where he was. Somewhere enclosed, although that didn't make much sense to him. He could definitely see earth over his head, though, and as he slowly turned his aching head he could just make out walls of more earth...and someone else. There was another person inside this whatever-it-was with him, a woman.

"_Who...are you?_" he asked, wincing at the rough sound of his own voice, as well as the pain in his throat from the effort of speaking. "_Do I...know you?_" She seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place her.

"_I am Me'lina,_" the woman said, leaning over him and touching a place on his shoulder that flared with pain, "_how are you feeling? Your fever seems to be coming down, which is a good sign._"

"_Me'lina..._" he mulled over the name, rolled it around on his tongue like a piece of nectar-drenched fruit. It didn't sound familiar, but he thought it suited her. The way she touched what must be his wounds showed her to be both sweet and gentle. "_Oel ngatì kameie, ma Me'lina, I'm..._" he broke off. There was something wrong here. Why couldn't he make his name come from his mouth? He...it was almost on the tip of his tongue and yet he couldn't bring the proper syllables to mind!

"_Hush,_" she pressed a soothing damp cloth over his forehead, "_You are ill, don't worry, this confusion will fade as your fever goes down. You can introduce yourself to me properly then, fine warrior._"

He shook his head. "_I should know,_" he said, and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate, trying to think about names. His mother's name, his father's name...but he didn't know what they were. He couldn't even bring to mind their faces! The only name he knew was hers. This girl's...Me'lina. The name that tasted like sweetened fruit...and one other! There was another name! A name that meant warm days lounging in the limbs of the trees and falling into the water for the pure joy of it, a name that sounded like the life-giving water as it bubbled over the rocks of the river... If he could get Me'lina to bring the one whose name he remembered, perhaps then he could remember more.

He reached up to grasp her wrist in excitement. "_Sylwanin!_" he said, "_Find Sylwanin! She'll help!_"

"_Just as soon as you're well,_" Me'lina said, "_now drink, you must be very thirsty._"

She wrapped her free arm around his shoulders and propped him up enough so that he could drink, and he gulped the first mouthful of water almost desperately.

"_Slowly now,_" she chided, "_slowly or it will do you no good._"

He really wanted to just guzzle the whole of the water down right away, but something inside him agreed with her, knew that to drink so quickly would only make him sick, and he slowed, sipping tiny sips until the water was all gone. It tasted a little strange, but somehow familiar...he couldn't quite place the flavour, but at least it counteracted some of the horrible taste in his mouth.

"_Siltsan, good warrior, that's the way,_" Me'lina said softly as she laid him back down.

He tried to protest, tried to stay sitting up...he wanted to talk, t ask her what was going on, but somehow he just didn't have the strength. As his eyes were closing, each one seeming as heavy as though an _'angtsik_ was sitting on it, he suddenly realized that there must have been something in the water, but by then it was too late. He was already asleep again, or unconscious, and dreams once again consumed him.

* * *

Mrrket watched carefully as the healers' medicines took effect and Peyral drifted once again into the deep sleep that he had learned, as he watched over her, meant that she would not wake for at least a quarter of the day. He did not want to be delinquent in the duty he had taken on of making sure that she rested until she was well on the way to recovery and past the chance of re-opening her wound, but there were things that were troubling him, and he did not want to trouble _her_ by asking her directly about what would appear to be a somewhat delicate situation. It was not, perhaps, the height of politeness to go around behind her back and ask another about the situation either, and he knew his mother would have pinched his tail for being rude, but better that he be a bit rude and know the breadth and depth of the waters he was attempting to cross than he get swept away by the torrent of her emotions. She was...well, he _liked_ Peyral, and not just because she was pretty, either. When she was calm (or in other words when she was tired and no longer had the energy to pretend to be strong) they talked of many things, and she had a clever mind to go along with her bravery and physical skill that made him deeply curious about her and made him want to continue to learn more about her. Even that curiosity, though, didn't bury his good sense enough that he had any intention of trying to find out what was going on by asking her directly!

Since what he wanted to know most was the explanation behind her reaction to _Toruk Makto_ and he was hardly going to approach that great man directly (even if he did seem to be quite a casual sort of fellow, at least from what Mrrket had seen when the man visited with the injured, both Peyral and others) and it would hardly be appropriate for him to approach the man's mate either, he thought his best chance of an explanation would be to speak with the young woman who had led him to the healers in the first place. She and Peyral were clearly close friends, and as a singer she would be observant enough to give him the story that he needed, and discreet enough to keep things to herself. His only worry was that she would also be discreet enough that perhaps she wouldn't want to give him the story at all, given that this was her friend he was asking about. He was prepared for that eventuality, however, with a few bargaining points of his own, and that was yet another reason he wanted someone who would be discreet. A few of those bargaining points really didn't need to be getting back to Peyral just yet. If he was to hunt a hunter, after all, he needed every advantage he could possibly get.

But for now he wasn't hunting a hunter, he was hunting a singer, and he had a fairly good idea where she would be. The _kunsìp_ which brought people back and forth between here and the home of the _sawtute_ had gone overhead not long ago, and when it had landed he had seen her among those who had ridden within its belly. She had headed toward the area where the singers rested and worked, and so he headed there as well, putting a cheerful smile on his face. He had always liked singers, even though he had no skill in that direction himself.

"_Oel ayngatì kameie,_" he gestured politely as he walked among the group of singers, "_might I speak with Ninat?_"

"_I See you, ma Mrrket,_" Ninat rose to her feet, sending a small smile and a gesture to her mate that he needn't get up, "_what is it you wish to talk to me about? Is Peyral well?_"

"_She is well,_" he nodded, "_but some things she has said concern me. Of course, I do not know if my concern is needed, since perhaps she has simply spoken as she always speaks, so I thought perhaps as you are her close friend you might guide me more clearly. Might I speak to you alone?_"

"_Of course,_" she nodded, looking a little more serious, "_I will be glad to help you decide whether such concern is needed._" She leaned over and whispered something in the ear of her mate and he nodded and caught her hand, rubbing it over his cheek before he let her go. It was clear that the two of them were very new mates, but Mrrket suppressed the urge to chuckle at the man's reluctance to part with her. After all, it spoke well of him, even if he _was_ one of the _uniltìranyu_.

Once they had found a quiet corner out of immediate earshot, they both sat down, and Ninat gave him a very direct look.

"_Alright,_" she said, "_your speech back there was very circular...what exactly is going on?_"

Mrrket took a deep breath, prepared himself, and waded directly into the riptide. "_I am worried about the way Peyral acts when Toruk Makto visits with her,_" he said, "_she is always so happy to see him and yet, when he leaves or when he and his mate are there together there is deep sadness within her._" He shook his head, "_I know it is rude of me to ask, but I have seen sadness like that before, and when I caught her...when I saved her during the battle, she had no concern for her own life. No care that by going back into battle she would very likely die. I do not want to see her take such risks again once she is healed and perhaps succeed this time._"

"_And why does she concern you so?_" Ninat pinned him with a knowing look, "_is it merely duty to one the healers have placed in your care, or the duty of the saviour of a life to watch over that life for a season? I had not heard that such traditions were observed by your clan, I had thought those more common among the clans of the plains._"

_Pxasìk_! She'd picked up on the very thing he'd wanted to keep as his highest bargaining point. Ah well, there was no sense in not using it, since he had every reason to want her on his side in this. He sighed. "_She concerns me because she could be...because she __**is**__ precious to me. I know it must seem as though I am being foolish, but I am fascinated by her and I want to know more about her, but more than that, I want her to be happy. I do not intend to try to force my attentions on her, I am not that foolish, but for now I have an excuse to watch over her, and if, when she is well, she sends me away then I will go. Reluctantly, but I will go, but if she is well only in body then I will not go with an easy heart._"

"_I think you would not go with an easy heart either way,_" Ninat shook her head, but then she smiled, and he knew he had gained the trust he needed, "_I suspect, though, that you are a hunter equal to her skill. You certainly seem to be good at leading your prey toward your trap, as you have led me just now with your words. I will tell you what you wish to know, but you must promise me that it will go no further, and that you will not speak of it to Peyral directly. At least, not while the situation remains unresolved._"

"_I so promise,_" he nodded, "_and my people are not just hunters, ma Ninat, we fish as well, and to catch a fish requires not only a good trap but the right bait as well._"

That made her laugh. "_I will remember that,_" she said, "_Now, there was a story you wished to hear, I believe?_"

It was not so complicated a story, really. He had certainly heard and even seen similar ones many times throughout his life; the two suitors both vying for the same mate, the misunderstandings (although in this case there was more than mere miscommunication) and the assumptions made. Truly, had he been in her place, with feelings for a man who had eyes for a woman already spoken for although not yet formally mated, he would likely have come to the same conclusion, that with time things should fall to his advantage. He felt a strange stirring of unreasoning pride that she had overcome any jealousy and retained her friendship with the couple after they mated (and yet, what right did he have to feel pride at this? He had played no part in it, after all. It had been entirely Peyral's own great heart that had led her clearly) but the part of the story which touched him most deeply - and the part he found most worrying - was the vow that Ninat told him Peyral had made, that she would dedicate her life to ensuring _Toruk Makto_ - Jhake - remained safe.

"_She insists that this is the path Eywa has laid before her,_" Ninat said finally, "_that there is no mate for her, nor children in her future, but that her life is to be spent in the defence of the clan and more directly of Jake and Neytiri and any children they might have in the future._" She gave him an arch look. "_I guess from your expression you may wish to argue that point with her._"

Mrrket flushed. "_I...admire her dedication,_" he said carefully, "_and I would not want to call such a calling a waste of her life, but..._"

Ninat laughed. "_I definitely suggest you don't use those words exactly if you speak to her about it,_" she said, "_but your ears and tail speak clearly enough to me. In the end, it is Jake who must give her back the life she has dedicated to him, but before he does that there needs to be someone who can catch her when she falls. I suspect you might be able to do that,_" she said, "_but this is a trap you will have to bait very, very carefully, for even if she is more than likely to want that bait, she will argue with herself over whether or not she should take it._"

"_I am a skilled hunter,_" Mrrket said firmly as he smiled, "_and more than that, I am a very skilled angler. I will do my very best to make the bait irresistible to her in such a way that she does not even realize she is in danger until she is on my hook._" He looked seriously at Ninat, "_I will catch her as many times as she falls. This is my oath to you._"

"_Then I believe we have an agreement,_" Ninat nodded, getting to her feet. "_Now I had better get back to my mate before he becomes worried and comes looking for me._"

"_Eywa ngahu,_" Mrrket waved as he stood as well, "_We will speak again later._"

"_We will,_" she nodded, "_Eywa ngahu, ma Mrrket, ulte etrìpa syayvi._"

He watched her walk off as he mulled over all that she'd told him. He had a plan of sorts beginning to form in his head, and he was, as he'd told her, and expert angler, but all the same, he had the feeling he was going to need that luck she had just wished him.

* * *

As he headed back to his room from yet another meeting of the "new Hell's Gate administrators", Jakob Kater sighed. It was, ironically enough, turning into quite the exciting time to be alive. A shame he wouldn't be around to see how it all ended up, but then, if it hadn't been for his cancer, would he even have gotten involved in the first place? Sometimes he wondered about things like fate and whether there wasn't something to it after all.

He chuckled wryly to himself. Either fate or Murphy, or maybe both. Or maybe neither. Maybe it was just that human tendency to see patterns in everything even when there was nothing there but grey fuzz on a broken screen.

He swiped his key, paused as the door to his small suite hissed open on its smooth pneumatic tracks then stepped inside, already going through the tiny rituals to begin to clear his mind. Meditation was still the best, easiest way to control his chronic pain, but ever since a week or so ago, he had begun to wonder if his sanity wasn't slipping a bit. He kept hearing echoes of a voice, although the first time was the only time he had thought it was actually speaking to him. He'd read up on as much as he could find about hearing or seeing unexpected things during meditation, and he thought it might be some inner voice or wish fulfillment - it had made him feel very calm when it spoke to him, after all - so tonight he intended to see if he could actually "make contact" with it again.

He slipped off his shoes, downed a couple of pills with a glass of water and hung his jacket over the back of his chair and then he went to sit on his bed, settling into the most comfortable position that approximated cross-legged as he could manage. He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing until his consciousness had sunk deep within himself, and then, in that drifting place of nothingness he sharpened his non-corporeal ears and listened.

It seemed like he could hear the babble of voices far away, somewhere outside himself, like voices heard through a closed window. Hmm...maybe that would work. Visualizing a window in front of him, his consciousness reached out and opened it up. _"Can you hear me?"_ he wondered within the depths of his mind.

_"How remarkable,"_ the voice said, and this time he heard it clearly, _"I had not thought my sister's children capable of speaking in this way. What is your name, child of Gaia?"_

_"Jakob Kater,"_ he said, tamping down on his excitement as best he could. He didn't want to loose his trance state yet. Not now! _"To whom am I speaking?"_

The voice laughed, a merry, tinkling sound like raindrops shaken off the leaves of a tree. _"To whom did you expect to speak in this way, Jakob Kater? I am the one the Na'vi call Eywa. Was there some other you thought you would reach instead?"_

Eywa? His mind _must_ be playing tricks on him! _"But...how is that even possible?"_ He hadn't meant to "think" that "out loud" but she answered anyway.

_"That is what I had hoped you would tell me. I suppose I will have to ask Grace if she knows. Be well, Jakob Kater. You are not my true child, but even my sister's children deserve my blessing if they can speak with me."_

And then all of a sudden Kater was jolted out of his meditation. Whether it had been an involuntary reaction due to his own surprise or something else he was no longer quite sure. There was one thing he did know, though. He really needed to find one of the avatar drivers tomorrow before they went into link. If anyone knew how to figure out if that had been real, someone who worked closely with the natives was who he was going to need to talk to.

* * *

Jake sighed softly to himself as he wandered through the area he'd come to think of as the "field hospital". He'd visited with Peyral again, and she seemed to be doing better, but all that really meant was that her leg was healing well and she'd soon be able to try to put herself in danger again for his sake. He really wished she wouldn't do that, but at the same time, he remembered something Meilin had said to him once about people and relationships. There had been another guy in their squad, Mendez, who had developed an obvious crush on her, and even though she never encouraged him (and even if she had it never would have gone anywhere, since Meilin was the type who took frat regs very, very seriously) he still insisted on doing all kinds of crazy shit to try to get her attention. In all that, he had actually managed to put himself in the way of a bullet for her - it would have been stopped by her vest anyway, but that wasn't the point - and that was the thing that finally made her take steps. Strangely though (at least, strangely to Jake at the time until she'd explained things to him) the first thing she'd done was to find him an acceptable 'real" girlfriend. When he'd asked her about it later, she'd told him "You don't just abandon that kind of loyalty, even if your feelings and his are not the same. I don't love him, Jake, but I don't hate him either, and he's one of us. I'm not going to just push him out of the plane without a chute."

He'd always thought that was a bit of a simplification, but now he was beginning to truly understand what she'd meant. He just wished he had an appropriate sort of parachute to give Peyral...and that he knew whether she would even wear the thing.

Damn, now that was a weird sort of metaphor! He shook his head and chuckled softly to himself, but he quickly became quiet as the sounds of a couple arguing reached his ears and he stilled to listen. Just in case someone needed the healers, he told himself.

"_Ìstaw, you are being unreasonable,_" the woman said, and she didn't sound angry so much as worried, which was mostly what had set Jake's senses tingling in the first place.

"_It is not unreasonable to want better for you and little Tsamut, ma Txilte._" the man replied, "_and as I am now, I am a burden you do not need._"

"_You are no burden!_" she insisted, "_and even if you were I would not care. You are my life, ma Ìstaw, you and Tsamut together, and even if you do not think of me, think of him! He should not have to grow never knowing his father!_"

"_He might be better off if he did,_" there was sadness in the man's voice, and it sent chills through Jake's blood. He'd heard that tone before. Hell, he'd _used_ that tone before himself. "_After all,_" the man continued, "_what use is a hunter who can no longer walk?_"

Shit. Shit, shit and shit again. Jake really hadn't wanted to let on he was eavesdropping, but there were some things that just couldn't be ignored, and that was one of them. He turned toward the direction he'd heard the couple's voices coming from and strode swiftly over there, his tail lashing with purpose.

"_I'm sorry for interrupting rude,_" he said in his still-halting Na'vi, "_but I heard you and wrong. You are wrong,_" he said to the man. He frowned. Damn this was going to be difficult to translate.

"_Oel ngatì kameie,_" The man said with great respect, "_I am sorry our words troubled you, ma Toruk Makto._" He shook his head, "For you it is still _'Ìnglìsì_ which is more easy?"

"It is, yeah, thanks," Jake sighed in relief. He'd thought they both looked vaguely familiar from evenings around the fire pit at Hometree, but he couldn't be sure. He took them both in with a quick glance and realized immediately why the man was so upset. He had evidently been in battle, and Jake could see that he had lost his right foot and leg a little below the knee. "Do you mind if I sit?" he asked, "I think maybe there's something you need to hear before you make any rash decisions, and quite honestly I can't think of anyone more right to tell you this but me."

"Of course you sit, _ma Toruk Makto_," the man said, "but I know not why trouble yourself."

"That's okay," Jake said with a smile as he eased himself down and settled across from the couple, "you'll understand soon enough. And please, call me "Jake". I'm just another warrior, a _tsamsiyu_ like you are."

"I am Ìstaw," the man said, "and this is Txilte, my mate, and our new son Tsamut."

Jake gestured politely to Txilte and couldn't help but smile as he caught a glimpse of the tiny baby nestled against her chest. His face was serious, though, when he turned back to Ìstaw.

"You are Omatikaya," he said, "so you probably know quite a bit about my background. You know how I came to the clan, and that I'm _uniltìranyu_ and all that, but do you know _why_ I became _uniltìranyu_? Why I left my warrior clan and came here at all?"

"I know that story not," Ìstaw admitted.

"Ah," Jake nodded. "I wasn't sure. I've mentioned it to a few people, but I guess it didn't really make the rounds." He could see Ìstaw was looking a little confused, so he tried to make his language a bit simpler. "Back on Earth, the home of the _tawtute_, I was a warrior. A very proud warrior," he admitted, "but a good one. You've seen the kinds of weapons the _sawtute_ have, guns and bombs and stuff like that, and that's what I used. That's also what the people I was fighting used, and one day I was very unlucky. A hidden bomb exploded near me. One of my warrior brothers was killed instantly and I and a warrior sister were injured. We were injured badly enough that we could no longer fight, in fact. For her it was not so very bad; her shoulder didn't work properly anymore, but there were still lots of things she could do. For me...I was injured in my back. Just about here," he pressed a finger just above his navel. "I don't know how common that kind of injury is for the Na'vi, but for humans it means everything lower than that place is dead."

"It not is common, but I know this hurt," Txilte whispered. "When it comes often life is short."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Jake nodded. "I'm sure it's much less common for Na'vi, but humans are pretty breakable," he chuckled humourlessly, "spinal injuries are common enough that we've pretty much figured out how to deal with them, but for a warrior, even with the best healing that's available, it means he's never gonna be a warrior again. For a long time, as I was lying in my bed in the hospital - the place of healing - waiting to learn how to be a man in a chair with wheels, I thought that my warrior brother was the lucky one. At least he had died a clean death, a warrior's death...a quick death. There was a time when I thought very hard about following him and removing my burden from the healers."

He watched Ìstaw's face very carefully as he told the story, and he could see that he had struck a nerve.

"In the end, though, I thought better of that decision," he said. "After all, I didn't want to give my enemies the satisfaction of breaking my spirit. I wasn't particularly happy about my situation, but I wasn't going to just take the easy way out either." Then he grinned. "And look how it ended up! If I hadn't gotten injured I'd probably still be back on Earth fighting in some meaningless scuffle over oil or some other bullshit, but instead I'm here."

"And you did good things here," Ìstaw said, "even though you had this bad hurt in your _tawtute_ body. But I have no _uniltìrantokx_ to wear that will let me walk again."

"No," Jake admitted, "but there are things the _sawtute_ make that can fix a leg that's gone, or at least mostly fix it. But besides that, you may be missing a leg but you're not missing your brain, are you? Even if you can't walk properly you can still think, and do you know what that means? That means you can teach."

"But I will not take children running through the forest," he protested. "not like this."

"No," Jake shook his head, "but you can tell them things. And with a little help you can show them how to shoot their bows."

"I am one of the good with a bow..." Ìstaw admitted thoughtfully.

"Then that's what you should do," Jake said firmly. "I'll help get you a new leg - the kind the _sawtute_ can make - if you want it, but in return you have to promise that you won't try to make yourself less of a burden by going out into the forest and asking the _nantang_ to eat you."

Ìstaw glanced down at his missing leg again, then he closed his eyes, but when he looked up again he met Jake's gaze calmly. "_I will agree to this,_" he said.

"_I will make sure he keeps his promise,_" Txilte said as well, placing a possessive hand over her mate's bicep, "_his strong arms were always more useful than his legs anyway._"

That made Jake laugh. "You're a lucky man, Ìstaw," he grinned, "now I'd better go find my own mate before she thinks I've abandoned her. _Eywa ngahu, ma eylan._"

"_Eywa Ngahu, ma Jhake,_" Ìstaw returned, and there was actually the beginnings of a smile on his face. "_I wish you luck. Neytiri has always had a bit of a temper._"

* * *

Mo'at nodded softly to herself as she looked over at Ateyo and Kxawn'e. Their search for Jake had taken them to the area where the healers were working, and they had come upon him deep in conversation with one of the injured. Mo'at hadn't wanted to interrupt him and had waited a polite distance away until he was finished speaking with them, but she and the men had been close enough to overhear his words, and they only strengthened her belief that she was making the right decision.

He didn't even seem to see her as he walked past, clearly deep in thought, so she reached out a hand and gently caught his wrist to stop him.

"That was well done, _ma 'itan_," she nodded gravely to him, "there has been too much loss of life already this season, and to prevent even one more life taken out of its proper time is a good thing."

"It was the right thing to do," Jake shrugged, "and I knew how the guy felt, so I was the right person to talk to him, that's all. But you're right, there has been way too much loss of life, and I didn't want to see another one wasted." He glanced at her and at the men standing on either side of her and he frowned slightly. "What brings you here?"

"We wished to speak to you," Ateyo explained, "but it might be better somewhere more quiet."

"Okay," Jake nodded. He was wary, she could see it clearly in his posture, but he was not openly suspicious yet, which was good.

"My daughter waits for us near the place where you sleep," Mo'at told him, "that will be quiet enough."

As they walked together in silence, Mo'at reminded herself of everything Neytiri had told her about how Jake was likely to react to what she was going to suggest. None of it had been really surprising to her, but she suspected it would be surprising to Jake. She knew he didn't think of himself as a leader, but it was clear for anyone to see who knew how to look that this was a man within whom the seed of a great leader would germinate and grow to a mighty tree. He was strong, but he could be gentle, and he had that most important quality: he was humble. It was obvious that even if he didn't realize it he was already caring for his people as a loving father would, all it wanted was for the situation to be formalized.

When they reached Neytiri Mo'at hung back for a moment, letting them greet each other and letting the presence of his mate calm Jake, and when his tail was still and his ears had raised again, that was when she and the men joined them in the small hollow they had chosen as their nest in this place.

"Alright," Jake said, frowning slightly (but not as much as when he hadn't had an arm wrapped around Neytiri, Mo'at noted with amusement), "what exactly is up here?"

"There is a situation which needs to be eased," Mo'at explained, "and the other elders and I have spoken and we all agree that you are the one to take on the burden."

The tip of Jake's tail flicked warily. "And just what "burden" is that?" he asked.

"It has been some days now since the battle and in all that time, Tsu'tey has not been found. Neither his living self nor his body," she began.

"Ohhhh no." Jake shook his head, his eyes looking a little wild. Clearly he could read the tracks of this just as well as any hunter. "No no no, you're not putting that on me. I'm Jake Sully, I'm not officer material!"

"Are you afraid to lead?" Ateyo frowned at him, "I expected better of the one my son followed into battle."

"I'm not afraid of anything!" Jake said proudly, "it's just...you don't want me, you want someone who knows what the hell he's doing. I don't even speak the language right!"

"And yet already you take on the role of _olo'eyktan_ without even knowing," Kxawn'e said, "What you said to Ìstaw were clearly the words of a leader, and one who loves his people as his children."

"That was pure dumb luck," Jake insisted, "it only worked because we had something in common."

"It worked because you cared, _ma 'itan_," Mo'at corrected him gently, "and as for knowing what you are doing, you do not have to lead alone. I will be here, and the rest of the elders also. You will not be thrown before _aynantang_ without even a knife to defend yourself. All leaders start this way."

"Then why can't you just deal with everything on your own?" Jake pointed out, "why do you need me at all?"

"The people need a voice and a face to love, _ma Jhake,_" Neytiri reminded him, and Mo'at could see his arguments beginning to crumble.

"Goddamnit," he growled. "Fine then, I'll do it, but just temporarily. I'm not gonna take Tsu'tey's place from him, and I'm sure he's out there somewhere. That man is way too stubborn to die!"

"Alright," Mo'at agreed, "then we will say it is just for now." She knew it was not very likely that Tsu'tey would come back, even if he was, as Jake had said, very stubborn, but if he did return then the situation could be sorted out at that time. "Now perhaps you would like some time to think about what you will need to do. We will leave you here, and tomorrow we will make the announcement of your decision to the clan."

She sighed as she turned to leave her son-in-law to her daughter's tender care. It was a heavy burden she was placing on his shoulders, and not one she had ever expected to have to bestow twice in one season, but she knew she had made the right decision, and she knew Eytukan would agree. Oh, he would have argued about it, but eventually he would have agreed, because in the end, it was the right thing to do.

* * *

Although most of the time she drifted on the clouds of fluffy softness that had surrounded her and taken the pain away, as time went on, she slowly began to drift up toward the surface more and more. She could hear voices now and then, although they were mostly unfamiliar to her, and sometimes she half-remembered faces of people who she for some reason felt she should be worried about.

The Voice - the first one she'd heard and the one that actually spoke to her directly - assured her that everything was well, that there was no need to worry for her loved-ones and that they were all safe and she would see them soon, but she couldn't help holding onto just a little bit of that worry in a corner of her heart. It was a girl thing, _Na'_ had always said, to worry about things just to be worrying about something, because even though boys thought they were the ones who took care of everyone really it was the girls who took care.

And somewhere out there, there was a boy who, she worried, was missing her and might go looking for her in the wrong places. Not that she was just all that sure what those "wrong places" would be, but she worried about them anyway, because when she left this place, as the voice said she soon would, she wanted the boy to be there with her. She was tired of them not being in the same place anymore.

* * *

**And we leave things there for now, but have no fear, all will be revealed in the next chapter! Well, a lot will be revealed anyway, including a scene that I have no doubt fits in the category of "long-awaited". I never meant it to be quite as "long-awaited" as it has ended up being, but hopefully it will be worth the wait in the end.**

**Anyway, enough of that, on with the...**

**Vocab:**

**_Ikran - _banshee_  
tawtute / sawtute - _sky person/people, human(s)_  
Olo'eyktan -_ clan leader_  
talioang - _sturmbeest_  
(ay)uniltìranyu - _dreamwalker(s), avatar(s)_  
(ay)nantang - _viperwolf(wolves)_  
Toruk Makto - _legendary warrior who brought the clans together (also Jake ^_~)_  
tawsìp - _sky ship, aircraft_  
Vitrautral - _Tree of Souls_  
Kelutral - _Hometree_  
palulukan - _thanator_  
sanhì - _stars, or in this case bioluminescent freckles_  
yawne - _beloved_  
yerik - _hexapede_  
pa'li - _direhorse_  
tsahìk - _shaman, one who interprets the will of Eywa_  
tswin - _queue_  
atokirina' - _seeds of the sacred tree, messengers of Eywa_  
tsaheylu - _the bond_  
Sa'nok - _Mother_  
Oel ngatì kameie / Oel ayngatì kameie - _I See you / I See all of you (for groups larger than three)_  
'angtsik - _hammerhead titanothere_  
kunsìp - _gunship_  
ulte - _and, for connecting clauses (for lists, you use_ sì _instead)_  
etrìpa syayvi -_ good luck_  
'Ìnglìsì - _English language_  
tsamsiyu - _warrior_  
uniltìrantokx - _dreamwalker body, empty avatar_  
Eywa ngahu - _Eywa be with you, polite parting statement_  
eylan - _friends (this one's a bit tricky. If it were singular it would be_ 'eylan..._can you all see the difference? XD )_  
'itan - _son**


End file.
